


Youth and Havoc

by Tren



Series: Youth and Havoc [1]
Category: BlazBlue
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bodyswap, Canon Typical Dysfunctionality, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-07 10:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 87,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tren/pseuds/Tren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being expelled from all the other high schools in the city Ragna is forced to attend the same one as his brother. Such setup can only end in the inevitable violence and sibling rivalry. Makoto struggles with minimalizing colateral damage they cause and with Tsubaki's obliviousness to the fact that her crush is in fact a sociopath with brother complex. And despite this knowledge Makoto herself can't help falling for the said sociopath, even though she knows that this can only end in more troubles.</p><p>The situation only gets more warped when Jin and Ragna switch bodies after being affected by a strange phenomenon. As they are forced to pretend to be each other, Makoto tries to support them. But will her help be enough to make them overcome almost ten years of their dysfunctional relationship and the supernatural interference? </p><p>Thus begins a confusing story of love, sibling rivalry and violence.</p><p>NOTE. Due to the recurring health issues my work on this and all other fics has been effectively stalled. Next chapter comes when my life gets some stability and time for writing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reunion - Havoc which sets the stage of a new story

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like writing a high school AU with Blazblue characters. I have only a vague idea of what the plot is going to be like, since the story is pretty much writing itself. There will be supernatural elements later on if I manage to get to them, but at the begining the setting is a rather mundane one. 
> 
> The story will mostly concentrate on Ragna, Jin and Makoto.

“I refuse to go!”

It was early morning and morning light shone on a bed, on which laid a big lump hidden under the blankets. Next to the bed, a humanoid cat, standing on two legs and wearing yellow cloth, sighed.

“Ay. Don’t make it more difficult for both of us Ragna.”

“I refuse!” The lump repeated with even more emphasis.

“I know yer aren’t a brightest bulb out there, but still I want ya to finish high school. Year and a half ain’t so much. It’d be stupid to give up now.”

“I don’t mind finishing the school,” the lump under the blanket interjected with a slightly more polite, but still strained voice. “I just don’t want to go to that one!”

“If ya hadn’t been kicked out from all other schools I wouldn’t have to send ya to this one,” Jubei patiently pointed out. The lump groaned. “And the dojo ain’t moving itself from here just cause ya can’t get along with yer brother.”

Something which sounded like a string of curses escaped from under the blanket.

“Yer both almost adults, ya should finally learn to coexist peacefully.”

Lump groaned yet again.

“I also had a brother, I know that there are times when yer want to murder the lil piece of shit, usually for stupid reasons. But yer ain’t supposed to attempt it all the time.”

“Tell that to Jin,” the lump hissed.

“I’ve seen ya going at it. Yer have as much bloodlust as him when ya fight.”

The lump shifted, but didn’t answer.

“I know yer both have temper problems, but it’s not like ya will be in the same class. Ya can at least manage to learn peacefully,” Jubei pointed out.

“Even if I want, the bastard will be waiting at the school entrance picking a fight with me! It will be exactly the same as in the middle school!”

*

“It takes you back to the middle school, huh,” a brown haired girl with round animal ears and huge squirrel tail, wearing a school uniform, muttered. She was looking at the blond haired boy, who stood in the centre of road leading to the school gates. He was wearing uniform just like other students passing him on the way to school, but unlike them in his left hand he held a wooden sword. His eyes were transfixed on the road and his whole body swung slightly, as if he was nervously anticipating something. There was a small grin on his face. Since he was pretty famous because of his good grades, beauty and position as student council president, most of people who passed him couldn’t help, but look at him with a confusion. He, on the other hand, completely ignored those stares, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

“Y-yeah, he even has this scary look in his eyes,” a blond girl who stood next to the brown haired one supplied. She looked extremely similar to the boy standing before the gates, which caused them to be often mistaken as his sibling when they ended up in the same school. However, they were not related and she usually ended up having to explain this.

“He’s been standing here since five o’clock. I’ve seen him, when I was jogging,” first girl added.

“He’s surprisingly obstinate, when it comes to his brothe… ah, sorry, I wasn’t trying to insult him,” she corrected himself, realising what she just said.

“’Surprisingly obstinate’ doesn’t even begin to cover it, Noel,” said brown haired girl with a sight. “He has issues and I can’t help worrying about Tsubaki.”

“Because she missed what happened in middle school?” blond girl asked.

For moment there was silence as two girls standing under the tree near the road watched the students walking to the school.

“She didn’t really believe us, you know,” Makoto finally said. “She thought we exaggerated when telling her what has happened.”

“B-but I understand it is hard to believe. I also wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t seen Jin act like that…” Noel muttered more and more dejected with each word.

“She could have at least delegated someone to help with damage control,” Makoto whined. “Us two may not be enough.”

“They may not end up fighting too violently,” Noel tried to cheer her friend up, but she must have realized that didn’t sound to convincing. After all, it was hard to describe the fights between those two brothers as anything other than a pure violence.

Suddenly Makoto moved and Noel immediately realized why. Jin has moved from the spot, where he stood for the last hour and was making his way down the road. The smile on his face could no longer be described as small, he was handling his sword in a way that suggested that he was about to use it and he generated murderous intent so blatant that people around couldn’t help, but notice it.

Makoto jumped from the place where she stood and rushed towards the place, where confrontation was to take place. Meanwhile Noel took the loudspeaker that lay on the ground and turned it on.

“E-everyone there’s going to be a fight, please watch out not to get caught up into it and hurry up to school!” She pledged to fellow students who at first stood confused, but then realizing what was going on moved quickly towards gates.

*

Ragna sighed deeply, when he reached a road leading to the school. It was quite wide and there were trees on both sides of it. Since it was a beginning of summer everything was beautifully green. Ragna was never one to pay too much attention to scenery, but he wanted to at least try calming himself down. Jubei was probably right after all. He was pretty much an adult now. He should sort it like a mature person, right?

Suddenly someone started talking through a loudspeaker.

“E-everyone there’s going to be a fight, please watch out not to get caught up into it and hurry up to school!”

It was definitely Noel’s voice, seems like he will meet some more acquaintances from his middle school.

“Damn,” he muttered. He didn’t feel like interacting with Noel again. She was so similar to his sister that it was almost disturbing. Then again it may be good that there is someone who is actually attempting to make sure there will be no casualties. Really, he himself should just stop it by refusing to fight. Jin wasn’t stupid enough to pick up a fight with someone who had no intention to confront him. Maybe he could solve this peacefully after all. Noel would also be probably happier then…

Ragna moved his head trying to localize Noel, but instead he noticed a smiling figure of his brother stalking towards him with a wooden sword in his hand. At this moment, Ragna’s pacifistic thoughts died inevitable death overtaken by anger and Ragna readied himself for the fight.

*

Makoto ran through the crowd. Most of students luckily decided to listen to Noel or their own intuition and scrammed. Some, however, stood in place.

“Move it!” Makoto said, rushing a male student who stood transfixed and without waiting for his answer continued to move. At this point she noticed Ragna, who was standing in the middle of the path. He was wearing the top of school’s uniform, however it was almost completely obscured by the red jacket (Makoto couldn’t comprehend how he could wear so much clothing, when it was so warm) and the uniform trousers were substituted by black tracksuit ones. Just like Jin, he carried a wooden sword, but he propped it on his shoulder in a laidback manner. Shortly after she noticed him, Ragna visibly tensed and swung his sword lightly. Most students who were near him automatically backed away from him afraid. Makoto was now not far from Jin, but she didn’t even consider stopping him. At this point it would only earn her a bruise. Instead she quickly calculated who was in the most danger and while screaming once again at everyone to clear off, she snatched the student, who stood too close and pushed him away.

At this point she didn’t even need to say why people should go away, because it was difficult not to notice two students with wooden swords looking at each other with hostility.

*

While Ragna felt extremely annoyed at seeing his younger sibling, he still couldn’t help noticing that he grew up. Ragna has last seen him more that year ago. Officially they parted ways, when they both finished the middle school that they attended, however Jin decided to use the free time before high school began to pester him, so it wasn’t until then that he stopped seeing him. Since then Jin gained height, although he was still as lean as he used to be. That last part wasn’t too surprising though, it was obvious to Ragna even before that their body type was different. Even now Jin was visibly shorter than him and Ragna doubted that he will grow much more.

Still, he grew up and that meant he had a better range during fight now. Ragna was well aware that one of his biggest advantages in their fights during middle school was the fact that Jin’s height at that time was average at best and because of that his range was much smaller. However, right now Jin would probably have no problem matching him in this aspect. Moreover, his movement seemed much more fluid and Ragna could already tell that his younger brother got faster.

It would probably be too much to ask for him to not improve his fighting skills…

At the edge of his vision Ragna noticed another familiar figure. A squirrel-girl seemed busy trying to drag away some students, who stopped to watch their face off. She was a friend of Noel, if he remember correctly. But before he could recall anything else, his attention returned to the enemy standing before him.

“Ah, it’s good to see you again,” Jin finally said a wide smile on his face.

*

Everyone around shivered slightly when Jin finally spoke. It couldn’t be helped, Makoto thought. His voice just sounded so different than the normal controlled tone he used that it was surprising to hear him talking in such… emotional fashion. Not to mention that the tone he used right now was just so goddamn intimate. Makoto was sure he never spoke like that even to Tsubaki. She has heard Jin talk to her and while his voice was always much more gentle than when he talked to other people it never sounded so… passionate. Damn it, it was scary to think what will be Tsubaki’s reaction to this whole mess.

Meanwhile Jin continued undisturbed.

“I really missed you, Nii-san,” his voice sounded childish now. “I haven’t seen you for a year now.”

“Jin,” Ragna growled angrily.

Makoto knew this scene all too well, but other watchers stood shocked trying to process what was happening right now. Have student council president just called transfer student his brother? What was wrong with their relationship? They weren’t really brothers, right? Why were they going to fight? And how was it possible for Jin’s voice to sound so damn alluring? Makoto couldn’t help, but be reminded of the first time she saw brothers confront each other, when she asked the same questions. Unfortunately only the first question found the answer, since Jin later confirmed that indeed they were a biological brothers, who ended up in different families. However, he didn’t share any more information, so Makoto had no idea what exactly happened in their past. The reasons why their relationship was just so wrong right now remained obscured.

And the mystery of why Jin could remain handsome even when succumbing to craziness would most probably never be solved.

Unfortunately she didn’t have time for convenient flashbacks, as the fight between the brothers was taking place on the way to school, meaning that more and more people gathered around confused and curious as to what was happening.

“Everyone, clear out!” Makoto yelled. She could still hear Noel repeating her plead, but some people were ignoring it. “Try to walk around them maintaining a safe distance!” She repeated dragging a female student, who was standing dangerously close to Ragna.

“But really, there isn’t all that much time before the classes start, so how about we begin?” Jin fortunately wasn’t in a mode for longer monologue, since his verbal exchanges with Ragna usually didn’t involve too much of complex or coherent response from the other side. Apparently Ragna was more used to making a point with his sword. Or to be more precise, with violence.

“Nii-san,” Jin repeated the phrase and as if it was a signal, the fight begun.

Jin charged towards Ragna, but it was white haired boy who attacked first, swinging his wooden sword with terrible strength. Younger brother immediately blocked the attack and counterattacked by catching the hilt of his own sword and performing a quick thrust with it. At this point Makoto was extremely happy that she pushed the girl from the spot where she was standing earlier, because otherwise she would have definitely ended up at least grazed. Luckily rest of the crowd had enough survival instinct to back away quickly after they realized just how dangerous the fight was. Most of them decided to avoid being caught into the mess and rushed to the school. Unfortunately, not everyone. Some of the students remained captured by the beauty of the fight taking place before them.

*

Ragna dodged the strike on instinct, since he hadn’t really seen it coming. Jin didn’t wait for him to recover and released a flurry of attacks. None of them were too strong and it was obvious they were meant to create an opening. Ragna parried most of them, but some connected and it hurt. 

Apparently Jin got not only faster, but also stronger. Or he simply learned how to hit so that it would hurt more. Either way, white haired transfer student was pretty sure he couldn’t go easy on his brother in his fight, if he didn’t want to lose. Ragna shouted and charged to break from the defensive, while blocking Jin’s sword with his own. Jin simply sidestepped slightly, while gracefully moving from his brother’s path of attack. Ragna didn’t miss the chance and swung his sword sideway hoping to surprise Jin, but blonde parried without even sparing glance to the weapon and afterwards twisted his body to execute another slash, this time aimed at Ragna’s leg. White haired man was one second too slow and the wooden sword painfully stabbed into his foot. He quickly decided to create some distance expecting another attack to come, but Jin didn’t move from his face and instead looked at him with very disappointed face.

“Is that really all you’ve got brother? It’s boring~” Jin complained with a childish voice. It was obvious that he expected Ragna to perform better in their fight and felt betrayed when his brother feel short of his expectations. It was really selfish of Jin. Ragna felt even bigger wave of anger than before rising in him. However, rather than being angry at his brother he was furious at himself. Why did he actually feel bad about not meeting those expectations? Why was he regretting not training more at dojo, right now? Why was he still attempting to fulfil the role of older brother even when he decided that he could never forgive Jin for what he had done in the past?

Propelled by rage, a pulsating pain in his foot and the pride of older brother Ragna let another howl and charged. Jin looked slightly annoyed at the fact that Ragna insisted on using the same unsuccessful tactic and easily blocked the straightforward swing. What he wasn’t prepared for was that the attack with sword was merely a feint and in the next moment Ragna used the momentum to perform a powerful kick that landed on Jin’s stomach. The blond man feel onto his knees while clutching his stomach, but despite his pain he was smiling.

“Arrkk… ha.. that’s it… That’s….” he had trouble speaking, but even his tone was a mix of pain and actual happiness.

Ragna didn’t try to execute another attack instead putting distance between them. One reason was he really didn’t want to hurt Jin more, especially with all those people as witnesses. As for the second one... his foot seriously hurt. He used the same one that was injured to perform the kick, because he didn’t trust it would support his weight, but the force of impact damaged it more than he expected. Right now he found it problematic to stand and continuing the fight would be suicidal. The smart thing would be to stop this whole scuffle and just go to school and maybe get some treatment in nurse’s office.

There was just one problem.

He was absolutely hopeless at ending his fights with Jin.

*

Here we go again, Makoto thought as she spotted a familiar look at Ragna’s face. She had seen a numerous confrontations of those two brothers and she knew very well what was happening right now. Ragna finally calmed down enough to want to stop the fight, but had no idea how to do it. It was the trickiest part of the whole ordeal. At this point a third party needed to interfere somehow in order to make the fight look like it was finished. Makoto knew that she was probably the only person that could do it, but she hesitated. She didn’t want Jin to think that she was meddling in his business and facing the wrath of both of the boys was a chilling perspective. Still, she needed to do this. 

Steeling herself Makoto took a step forward the unmoving brothers, but then suddenly a sound of a mobile phone reverberated. It was some kind of fast classical music piece, which name she didn’t know, but the melody was certainly familiar and that was because…

“Excuse me, for a moment,” suddenly returning to his normal way of being, Jin said politely. He was already on his feet and he quickly answered the phone. “Ah, good morning Tsubaki. Yes, gaah,” probably still feeling pain he grunted slightly, but immediately corrected himself. “Ah, no, nothing is wrong. I was just having a spar and I’m slightly out of breath.” While saying this he used his free hand (the wooden sword was left lying on the ground) to straighten himself up, completely returning to his student council president mode. Students who ended up witnessing this scene weren’t sure what to think anymore. Most of them seriously considered if they weren’t merely hallucinating and the incident had never in fact took place. Even with the proof that was the trace of Ragna’s boot on student council president’s shirt, the whole situation still seemed unreal. The proof that was becoming less visible, as Jin wiped it off with his hand. “Yes, I understand. Where was it? Yes, I got it. I will check it out. Bye.”

After finishing call, he turned to his brother.

“I’m sorry Nii-san I have an urgent matter to attend to, so we will have to finish this fight later,” Jin explained remorsefully.

“Just scram already,” Ragna hissed.

Jin in response turned to the students surrounding them, acknowledging their presence for the first time.

“I’m really sorry for the sudden obstruction on the route. I hope right now nobody will have any trouble reaching the school,” he said formally. People were so taken aback by this sudden apology that several voices replied something in the lines of “we don’t mind.” After that Makoto almost jumped, when Jin suddenly turned towards her.

“Makoto, could you please help Ragna to the nurse’s office? It’s his first day, so I doubt he knows where it is and he isn’t in the state where excessive walking is advised.”

“Ah, sure,” the brown haired girl replied surprised, not expecting question, but what Jin said actually made sense, so… 

“Then I will be counting on you,” Jin nodded and turned to his brother with a light smile. “See you later, Nii-san.”

After that Jin departed radiating the aura of the competent student council president and the crowd started dispersing, moving towards the school.

Makoto glanced at the transfer student.

“By the way, nice to meet you again, Ragna. I see you haven’t changed at all,” she said sighting slightly, obviously tired.

Ragna glared at her, but he quickly returned to his less intimidating expression.

“Right, nice to see you, “ he said, but there wasn’t much heart to it and he sounded even more exhausted than she did. “Um, so where is the nurse’s office.”

“The highest floor,” she answered immediately. Ragna winced visibly and Makoto smiled slightly and added. “Yep, you are still a number one lucky lad. And no, we don’t have any elevators in this building.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna (with a small help) reaches to the infirmary, gets diagnosed and discovers who is responsible for forcing him to change his phone number in the middle school.


	2. First aid for dummies - Circumstances of Youth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, to those who read the first chapter! I hope you like interactions, because this is what you are going to get. Somehow I always end up writing conversations between characters rather than speeding up the story to the parts I did plan. Hope you don't mind. At least stick with me until the next chapter, because this is where the heart problems of our lovely girls will finally get some spotlight. 
> 
> Meanwhile, enjoy Makoto's and Ragna's banter.

“Whose great idea was it to place infirmary so goddamn high?!” Ragna asked loudly, as he struggled to drag himself up the stairs. “Wouldn’t it be easier to carry the students to infirmary if it was downstairs, rather than carry them upstairs?”

“When something really serious happens, nurse leaves here office and we just call ambulance you know…” Makoto pointed out, watching Ragna’s struggle from atop the stairs. She offered him help earlier, but was refused. Knowing how stubborn he is she decided that the best way to go about it was to wait until the white haired boy gives in. The classes have already begun, but she was sure Jin would inform teachers of the reason they were absent, so she was in no hurry. “And if he is free Tager will carry the injured student.”

“Tager?”

“Math teacher. He’s over two meters tall, buffier than me and is Kokonoe’s bitch. But he’s an okay guy, except the fact he’s Kokonoe’s bitch,” Makoto explained, noticing that meanwhile Ragna climbed two steps and was now in the middle of the stairs. However, he was panting and keeping his right foot slightly raised to avoid placing any pressure on it.

“And Kokonoe is?” Ragna asked and jumped onto another step using only his left leg.

“Physics teacher. Half cat beastkin, eats sweets all the time. Also her personality and speech manner is as refined as yours.”

“Sounds like pain in the ass,” Ragna summed up and made a series of small jumps getting himself almost to the top.

“Only two sets of stairs left! You can do!” Makoto encouraged him loudly, as Ragna slumped onto the floor. “Well, she isn’t bad teacher but if you get on her bad side she can make your life hell. So try to get along with her.”

Ragna sent her a questioning look, too tired to voice a question.

“Ummm. Let’s say I happened to learn that unlike Jin you are not good with this subject and she is a rather demanding teacher, so if you antagonize her you have no chance of passing,” Makoto explained trying to keep her voice humorous, but it was obvious she gave him a serious advice.

“Why the hell are you suddenly worried about me?” Ragna spewed out. He wasn’t really a friend of Makoto. They were just an acquaintances of sort through Jin and truthfully Ragna knew very little about squirrel girl.

She sighed, crossed her arms and ten looked at the sitting Ragna from above.

“I aren’t. My worries are not about you, mister infamous transfer student, but more about what will happen if you fail to pass. Especially what mister pretty boy student council president will do if you fail.” 

“So you are worried about him?” Ragna asked suddenly realizing the subject of the conversation got  
weird. 

“Well, that to,” Makoto admitted with a slight hesitation. “He is sort of friend after all, but I’m not worried about him, because… you know how he is. He will just do something stupid and that will be it. I’m worried about someone else. Ugh… it’s just complex,” Makoto rubbed her forehead. Just thinking about the whole mess with Tsubaki made her head hurt. “Just make sure you will get into next grade and everything will be fine!”

Ragna raised his eyebrow.

“Why do everyone assume I won’t understand explanation before they even give it to me?!” He complained loudly.

“More importantly, I was tasked with getting you to the infirmary and you will either move your ass or I will carry you there princess carry style,” Makoto said changing the topic. She really didn’t feel like explaining everything to Ragna.

He looked at her with disbelief.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“I’m pretty strong and it’s only one floor. A piece of cake for me!” She assured him pumping a fist into the air.

Ragna tried to stand up, but he was rewarded with a pulsating pain in his foot that made him lose his balance and fall…

…right into Makoto’s arms.

“No,” he said, seeing her break into a wide mischievous smile.

“Oh, yes,” she countered shifting slightly, so she could lift him.

Ragna contemplated struggling, but they were standing very close to stairs and if he tried to push Makoto away he would most probably fall downstairs. He decided to bear with situation rather than risk sustaining even more injuries.

At least there were no witnesses around. Good thing this was happening during the class time.

“Heave-ho!” Makoto exclaimed as she put her hand under Ragna’s knees and lifted him.

The transfer student couldn’t help making a troubled expression.

“J-Just don’t drop me,” he asked pleadingly. He was trying to maintain his dignity, but with poor results.

“Don’t worry! Don’t worry! Makoto will get you to the infirmary safe and sound~!” she assured him in a carefree voice and started to quickly climb the stairs to Ragna’s rising discomfort.

*

Litchi Faye-Ling was sitting in her office, filling some documents, when suddenly she heard someone kicking the door.

“Hey, could you open the door? I’ve got my hands full,” a female voice asked, but immediately a male one interjected.

“You don’t have to carry me anymore! We are already on the right floor and I can stand on one foot just fine!” 

“But after the door is open it will be easier if I just carry you onto bed rather than have you hobbling about,” the female voice pointed out.

“The door isn’t wide enough for you to carry me inside anyway!” the other voice replied sounding more and more annoyed.

At this point Litchi opened the door to see a squirrel girl carrying a large male student with white hair and mismatched eyes, who wore a red jacket over his uniform.

“Oh, Makoto,” she said recognizing the student, “how can I help you?”

“Our new transfer student got hurt on his way here and I was asked to get him to you,” Makoto explained with a smile. “Could you patch him up?”

“Of course, get him inside,” Litchi moved from the door gesturing to the bed lying in the office.  
Ragna wanted to protest that he could walk there by himself, but Makoto changed direction and moving sideways she entered the infirmary and placed Ragna on the bed before he managed to form a proper complaint, so the only sound that escaped him was an unhappy grumble.

“Now then,” nurse began in a serious voice, “what happened?”

Ragna looked at her, wondering how he should explain it. The nurse was a woman in a red Chinese dress, who wore a white lab coat over it. She had Asian features and a long black hair tied into a ponytail. She seemed to be a rather calm person, but Ragna could say from the experience that most of medical personnel didn’t react well to information that he got hurt in a fight. Reactions ranged from an angry tirade about irresponsible brats to heart-breaking pleads for him to correct his behaviour. Ragna couldn’t tell which end of the spectrum he hated more. This nurse looked to be closer to the latter type. Still, even after numerous visits in various infirmaries he had no idea how to explain properly that he as usual got into a fight with his crazy younger brother and that realistically speaking there is pretty much no chance that they will ever make up unless someone finds a way to fix his temper problems or Jin’s sanity. The counsellor in their middle school attempted to do this, but he made a grave mistake of holding a session with both of them together very early on and then when things inevitably spiralled into violence he made a second mistake of trying to stop them.

From what he heard Kisaragi family later paid for his hospital fees to avoid scandal.

“Actually, he got caught up in a fight on the way to school,” Ragna realized that Makoto started to explain the story for him. “And he got hit in foot. He has problems with walking so I was asked to take him to you.” She said quickly glossing over the more problematic parts.

“Which foot?” Litchi asked turning again towards Ragna. In response, the swung slightly his right leg. 

“Can I see it?” It was more of an instruction than a request and Ragna gladly took his shoe off. After he removed his sock everyone could see his foot was swollen, there was also a very visible bruise in the place where Jin’s sword hit him.

“It doesn’t look too well...” She sighed.

“It seems you won’t have to worry about the PE classes for now,” Makoto, who placed herself on a free chair noted.

“Shouldn’t you return to your class, Makoto?” Litchi pointed out gently, but there was a slight edge suggesting that it’d be better for her to leave.

“It won’t take you long to check him, right? And this way I will be able to pass information about his health to his brother. It will spare you from his visit,” Makoto explained.

Ragna quickly understood what she meant. If Jin was left with no information, he would most probably come to infirmary to ascertain the situation. Makoto was trying to lower this possibility, since Jin was usually content with simply knowing what was happening to Ragna.

“Let her stay,” he said quickly.

“Can’t you just inform him yourself?” Litchi asked puzzled, as she gently examined Ragna’s foot.

“No!”

“No.” 

Ragna and Makoto answered simultaneously. Litchi looked between them confused.

“Don’t have his number,” Ragna mumbled hoping to end the topic.

“But you are brothers, right? Doesn’t he have yours?” Litchi was even more confused.

“I changed my number, after he somehow learned it last time,” Ragna admitted.

Makoto meanwhile found ceiling to be very interesting and started to observe it with unexpected interest. Gears in Ragna’s head moved.

“Wait, it was your fault, you damn squirrel?! You gave it to him!” He cried and almost stood up only to be stopped by Litchi’s firm grab.

Makoto sighed.

“Oh, come on! Who do you take me for?” She said with contempt, while shaking her head. “Of course I didn’t give it to him like that.”

Ragna slumped slightly.

“Then how could he get it? You and Noel actually had a chance to learn it that time when you ended with my jacket and contacted Jubei, now that I think about it. But I really doubt it was Noel, since she isn’t a type to rummage through other people’s things without their permission…”

“I didn’t give it,” Makoto repeated now slightly embarrassed. “I sold it.”

“WHAAAAAAAAAT???!!!!!!” Ragna yelled at the top of his lungs.

“He offered a good price! And I was short on money,” a brown haired girl admitted. “And it’s not like you use the phone much. You had the whole three people on your contact list and the connection list proved you never phone anyone anyway. You only answered calls from Jubei and that ‘Rabbit’ person whoever it is…” 

Makoto decided that there was no point in hiding it and spilled the beans. Ragna looked at her wrathfully.

“SHUT UP!!!” He yelled angrily and attempted to rise once more, but to his surprise he meet someone even fiercer than him.

“Calm down, already!!” A powerful strike with a rolled stack of paper pacified Ragna, who now sat confused on the bed. Makoto stiffed laughter, but her face turned sour, when Litchi appeared before her with an inhuman speed and grabbed her by collar.

“And what do you think you are doing?! You are interrupting the first aid treatment by riling up my patient, do you realize that?!” Nurse asked angrily. “I know you were hiding something when you told me how he was hurt, but I decided to turn blind eye to it. However, seeing how you are definitely involved I believe you will explain to me properly what happened after I finish his treatment.

“Y-y-yes!” Makoto stuttered. She almost forgot how scary Litchi could be when she got angry. 

“Now then, coming back to you,” Litchi turned back to Ragna, who sat obediently. “It seems you were lucky enough not to suffer from dislocated joint, but you will need to have an X-Ray to make sure of it. I think I could arrange it for you to have it today,” she explained, while pulling an address book from a shelf. “My friend works in a clinic and could probably arrange it, if your parents don’t mind.”

“I can phone Jubei and ask him.”

Litchi nodded and continued.

“As for more immediate treatment, please lay down. Even if your joint isn’t dislocated you have a horrible bruise. We will have to cool it down, while you rest.”

Ragna took the other shoe and tried to somehow place himself on bed without causing too much pain in his right foot. When he did that Litchi came carrying a small stack of towels which she placed under his injured foot.

“It is also helpful to keep damaged limb slightly elevated,” she explained and after that placed a pack of ice wrapped in a cloth over the most bruised area. Ragna winced feeling the sudden cold. “This should help,” Litchi added with a smile. “You should do no walking today and during next days until you are healed. Bruises usually heal quickly, but if you don’t take care of them properly they can worsen easily.”

“I know,” Ragna said unhappily.

“Oh?” Litchi raised an eyebrow.

“I live in a dojo,” Ragna explained, while sighing. “Not the first time I ended up with a hugeass injury like that. My teacher never went easy on me.”

“I see,” she said. “I was afraid you were the type that often got into fights. And that was why you knew.”

The nurse shot him a scrutinizing gaze, obviously still suspecting him of delinquency. She was actually right, but Ragna wasn’t going to admit it right now. She would learn it anyway soon, since rumours of his earlier exploits were most probably already circulating around school. Not wanting to look directly at the nurse’s face, transfer student moved his field of vision and noticed that Makoto was typing on her smartphone. She was most probably fulfilling her objective of informing Jin.

“Now then I would like to know what exactly happened,” Litchi said, steel entering her voice once more.

Makoto, who was in the middle of typing stopped, but didn’t say anything, just looking at the older woman with fright. Ragna sighed again.

“Just as the squirrel said, I ended up in fight and wasn’t fast enough.”

“And why did you ‘end up in this fight’?” Litchi continued the topic.

That was a really good question, Ragna admitted, he would like to know himself.

“It… just happened,” he said. Somehow in Ragna’s life violence was a thing that always 'just happened'.

“That doesn’t answer anything,” the nurse pointed out.

“I know!” Ragna raised his voice again. “It’s always like that with that brat, goddamnit!” He hit a bed with his fist for an emphasis.

“Brat?” Litchi asked trying to somehow make sense of it.

“He probably means his brother,” Makoto finally finished her report and decided to help with explanation.

“So this fight had to do with his brother,” she said thoughtfully. “He’s also our student?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” the white haired boy confirmed.

“By the way, it seems I haven’t asked this before, but what’s your name?”

“Ragna. Ragna Bloodedge.”

“Bloodedge…”

“If you hope to find my brother through my surname then you won’t. We both had it changed, when our parents got divorced and we ended up in different foster families,” the boy explained tiredly. Litchi looked concerned for a moment as if she wanted to pursue the topic of why exactly they ended up in foster families after their parents took divorce. It wasn’t like they died. Or was it? In the end however, Litchi decided it wasn’t the safest topic and to Makoto’s disappointment didn’t ask any questions about it.

“So what is your brother’s surname?”

Ragna closed his eyes and exhaled sharply as if he remembered something unpleasant and then he muttered with an unmistakable hate in his voice.

“Kisaragi. Jin Kisaragi.”

Litchi couldn’t help making a surprised voice. She obviously knew who Jin was. His fame as both the heir to the Kisaragi family and talented student council president made him probably the most recognizable student in the school, next to Tsubaki Yayoi who was famous for similar reasons. However, it felt unreal that Ragna was actually supposed to be a brother of such an esteemed person. Litchi looked at Makoto for some sort of confirmation or denial.

“It’s true,” squirrel girl admitted. “I mean, I haven’t seen it on the paper, but Jin confirmed this. And well, they are a bit similar once you see them together,” she added seeing how Litchi still couldn’t completely swallow the news. The similarities Makoto thought of consisted mostly of stubbornness, violence and misusing outstanding sword-wielding abilities, but nurse didn’t have to know that.

“So you got in fight, because of your brother?” Litchi tried to return to establishing what exactly happened.

“Bastard was waiting for me with a sword,” Ragna said annoyed, remembering the happenings of the morning. “And he got better at it, goddamnit.”

“A sword? Wait, he picked a fight with you?” nurse asked surprised. She didn’t know Jin personally, but the story didn’t really fit with what she heard about him.

“Wooden sword,” Makoto supplied. “And well, yes, it was a brotherly spat.”

Litchi exhaled loudly.

“And what kind of brotherly spat involves attacking one’s sibling with a sword?” She asked unamused.

“Theirs,” Makoto replied pointing to Ragna. “For the record he also came with wooden sword, so it was even fight.”

“And why would you take a wooden sword to school?” Litchi turned towards Ragna.

“Because that brat would be waiting with one! It would be stupid to go unarmed,” transfer student explained with agitation.

“And how did you know he would…” Litchi began, but Makoto interrupted her.

“Middle school. They attended the same middle school. Only for the last year though, but it was sort of… eventful. I was also enrolled there.”

Litchi hid her face in her hand.

“You will have to report this to teachers.”

“Hell no!”

“Won’t do that,” Makoto added.

Nurse looked at them irritated.

“This is definitely against rules. As such it needs to be reported to the…”

Makoto sighed.

“It isn’t, that’s the whole point. Fighting on school grounds is forbidden. They didn’t. School rules don’t say anything about students having fights outside the premises. Basically they are free to beat shit out of each other as long as they keep it away from school.”

“Then shouldn’t it be reported to police?”

“Uh, bad idea,” Ragna interjected. 

“Kisaragi family has some ties to police and they make sure Jin won’t end up with any criminal record,” Makoto explained.

“Lucky bastard, I’m the only one to end up with a record whenever anything happens,” Ragna complained.

“You know, that’s probably because you also get into fights with other people as well,” squirrel girl pointed out. “Last time I checked Jin didn’t have anything to do with your expulsion from like all the other middle and high schools in our city?”

“Tch,” the transfer student averted his eyes after Makoto’s words. At this point squirrel girl was too aware of Ragna’s attitude to blindly believe his whining. Sure enough, he attracted trouble like catnip attracted cats, however, if he was able to control his short temper more effectively the number of his troubles would be probably cut in half.

…unless he was masochistic enough to actually enjoy his predicaments. After all Jin relished in the fights with his older brother during middle school despite the fact that he ended up pulverized in them about eighty percent of the time. And deep denial was another thing that brothers seemed to share, although they utilized it in a different fashion. Makoto couldn’t help thinking that Ragna would be less happy if he actually didn’t have anything to complain about.

Meanwhile, Litchi looked at Ragna with a slight contempt and sighted.

“Even if you won’t do it, I will still report it to the teachers and the headmaster. For now rest,” nurse said. He grunted something in response, but obediently remained still on bed. “And you should really return to class Makoto.”

“Must I~? I have a Japanese with professor Nishiki right now. It’s not like I’m actually missing on anything important.”

“Just go already.”

Makoto didn’t try to test nurse’s patience anymore and after bidding her farewell, she swiftly left the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: "The problems with being in a love triangle with sociopath" the story by Makoto Nanaya and Tsubaki Yayoi. Also, "How to kill the mood in 30 seconds flat" the tutorial by Jin Kisaragi.


	3. Love and sociopathy - Those who wish to understand each other hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad to announce I am probably still alive and sorry for the wait. After the examination session from hell, during which I felt pretty much dead inside I ended up falling ill and feeling even deader than before. Because of that I was pretty much unable to do any editing on the chapters.
> 
> Yep, editing. Not writing. I can assure you that I'm slowly but surely progressing with the actual writing, so while I can't promise regular updates, because hectic university life is catching up with me and the fact that I have been absent for a week now returns as a painful punishment, I really enjoy writing this fanfiction and don't plan to stop. I hope, you will also enjoy reading.
> 
> This chapter is a first part of a proper chapter, since it was so longish that I felt the need to split it (and I wanted to make a small cliffhanger like that~). I will try to get the second part of it soon.

Litchi made sure that Ragna didn’t leave the infirmary until classes ended. Most probably she suspected that the transfer student would do something stupid the moment she took her eyes from him and Makoto truly understood her feelings. After classes ended, Jubei, who was informed by the nurse about what happened, came and picked up Ragna. Apparently the beastkin asked a friend who owned a car to help him transport the white haired student back to dojo.

Also, just as she hoped Jin gave up on trying to meet his brother after receiving her information so the rest of the day should have been peaceful for Makoto as well. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, as she ended up helping with the student council work and Tsubaki decided to use this opportunity to talk about what happened today.

In Jin’s presence.

Makoto felt she would much rather simultaneously confront both brothers in a swordfight.

*

Everything started sort of innocently, with Noel stapling some necessary documents and Makoto doing a proofreading of announcements. Makoto often ended up helping with student councils work, so that Tsubaki and Noel could leave slightly earlier and they could spend some time together. There was a soothing silence in the room as they worked and while Makoto usually preferred a more noisy environment, she didn’t feel like raising any topic to change the state of things. She looked at Tsubaki and Jin who sat at the two desks, which stood alongside each other. Right now they seemed to be a paragons of virtue and hard work. Both of them steadily worked their way through the assigned documents without taking a break. However, Makoto knew both of them long enough to know that they only seemed to concentrate on documents. At the moment Jin was going through the papers completely mechanically, most probably thinking about something different. Makoto couldn’t help thinking that his ability to multitask was truly an envious thing. Well, she was pretty sure he never really paid much attention to the documents and yet he could manage them perfectly. Today, however, his disinterest in the forms he was filling was more prominent. Makoto remembered it was also like that when Ragna came to their middle school. At that time Tsubaki was absent, since she left for a student exchange program. Makoto still wasn’t sure if it was a bliss or a curse, because while Tsubaki maintained her unblemished vision of “Jin-niisama” it was a chore to pretend before her that he was like that. While Noel was innocent enough to excuse Jin’s behaviour, Makoto wasn’t. The more she had to pretend she didn’t see those faults the more she felt like pointing them out to Tsubaki.

After all, if the “perfect prince” was in fact a sociopathic jerkass with unhealthy brother complex and tendency to violence it was only fair to make other people aware of it. Especially when they wanted to end up in a romantic relationship with the said sociopath.

Unfortunately, Makoto was at the same time aware that her attempts to enlighten Tsubaki may end up backfiring. Like, backfiring in a really, really awful manner. After much deliberation she decided to let the events play out rather than try to influence them in any way. Sure, Tsubaki will feel horrible when she learns the truth, but Makoto knew there was no way of softening that blow. The redhead was simply too emotionally invested in Jin.

Therefore Makoto felt a sudden chill when Tsubaki decided to address the dreadful topic. It wasn’t that surprising. The redhead knew Jin long enough to notice his attitude was different than before and even if she didn’t believe the stories of Jin’s contemptuous behaviour around his brothers she wasn’t stupid enough to dismiss them. Even if she thought that Makoto and Noel made mountains out of molehills, she couldn’t deny that the said molehills did exist. Because of that, today she kept glancing at Jin, who was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t even notice it. That in itself was rather worrying. Jin usually paid attention to people he considered close and Tsubaki as his cousin and sort of childhood friend definitely belonged to this category. 

The redhead sighed shallowly and placed the documents she finished checking onto the pile.

“I heard that there was a commotion on the way to school in the morning,” she said while scrutinizing other people in the room.

Makoto felt herself straightening involuntary, Noel made a small sound of a cornered animal and Jin somehow forced himself to return to reality.

“Ah, yes, I’m afraid I ended up causing a small commotion near the gates,” Jin explained half-heartedly, remembering what happened this morning. He wasn’t looking at Tsubaki, instead staring at the wall. He seemed to be too caught in the memory of the morning to properly face his conversation partner. Tsubaki was obviously distraught by Jin’s unusual behaviour, but tried to control herself.

“What happened?” The redhead asked.

“I went to see Nii-san, but I got caught in the excitement and couldn’t help having a small match with him to see how much I improved,” he explained with a lazy smile on his face. He also sounded genuinely happy, but not crazy, aside from the childish way he called his brother. Tsubaki raised her brow when hearing him utter the word “Nii-san”, but didn’t ask about it.

Which was a good judgement, since it would be a pot calling the kettle black, considering that Tsubaki still hadn’t managed to completely stop calling her cousin “Jin-niisama”. At the same time, Makoto couldn’t help being amazed at Jin’s warped view of reality. What he said could be classified as the understatement of the year, but she could see that he sincerely believed what he was saying. It was as if he was completely oblivious to the fact that he is obsessed with his brother and that waiting for him near school gates for more than two hours to have a swordfight is not a socially acceptable behaviour.

“I see. I heard some students saying it was quite violent,” Tsubaki said, searching Jin for any traces of guilt.

“Violent? I wouldn’t say it got violent,” Jin said furrowing his brows. There was a small ting of regret to his voice, but it was easy to miss.

“Is that so?” Tsubaki asked and her voice contained suspiciousness. At this point Jin finally moved his head and looked at her properly.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble,” he said with a gentle voice he often used towards Tsubaki. “Next time I will make sure to meet him after school as to not inconvenience other students.”

Makoto and Noel both witnessed Tsubaki’s strictness melting under the calmness of Jin’s voice. While she tried to stay on the topic it was obvious that her feelings were interfering with her judgment.

“I heard it from Noel and Makoto, but well… you never mentioned you had a brother,” she said dropping her guard. At this point she was more curious than suspicious. Makoto slightly moved her ears. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t interested in the topic. Especially now that the immediate danger of Tsubaki having a breakdown was put off.

“Well, when the Kisaragi family took me I was told to forget about my past,” the blond explained, laughing slightly. “Of course, that was an impossible request, but I understood I was not supposed to mention my old life. So I did not. Since you are part of the family I also didn’t mention it to you.”  
His laugh was mocking but there was a tinge of sadness to it. His voice began to slowly descend into a melancholy. “I got used to not telling people about my past. Those memories just felt too precious to share them. Sometimes I felt as if they were the only thing truly belonging to me… And I didn’t believe anyone would truly understand them, even if I told them my past.”

A sudden silence enveloped the room. Nobody knew what to say after this depressing confession. Noel, who got caught up in a mood, was trying to contain her small sobs and the tears that started gathering in her eyes. Makoto had complicated feelings, experiencing joy and grief at the same time, and didn’t even attempt to dispel the gloomy atmosphere. Tsubaki seemed to be the most shocked one and was first to actually break silence.

“B-but wasn’t you the one who told me that we need to communicate if we want to truly understand each other?!” The redhead was trying to find something to deny the depressing thoughts that Jin revealed.

“Yes, I believe I said something like that in the past,” student council president agreed easily, looking at her with a lack of understanding.

“What of it?!” Tsubaki asked agitated.

“Was that a bad advice?” Jin asked in return not understanding the reason why Tsubaki suddenly got upset.

“N-no, but just now you said something completely contradictory!”

Jin sighed, folding his arms.

“In case you haven’t noticed humanity is a contradictory species, which is certainly a rather depressing in itself, but I still do not see why you are getting angry over what I said to you in the past,” student council president looked at the vice-president expectantly. He was well aware of the fact that his social skills weren’t good and while he could usually fake them to the point of fooling most of the people this was one of the cases where he just couldn’t grasp the other person’s feelings. Usually he could make an accurate estimation, but right now he was completely lost, so he decided to simply inquiry about Tsubaki’s stance on things. However, to his frustration his cousin refused to explain properly her problem, instead giving in to anger. Jin felt somehow disappointed in her, because of that.

“Y-you…” Tsubaki attempted to say something, but was too agitated to properly form a sentence. She realized that and decided to take a big breath instead and after a short pause said, “I’m going out for a bit to get some fresh air, I will come back soon.”

After that she quickly left the room. Noel followed her immediately to give her some emotional support and not wanting to stay in a room with a disgruntled Jin. Makoto also entertained the thought of going after her friend, but in the end decided to stay. Noel should manage to cheer up Tsubaki on her own and judging by Jin’s unamused face he may also need someone to give him emotional support. And in case she is successful he might reconcile with Tsubaki sooner. Thinking this to herself, Makoto rose from her chair.

“Man, that was one hell of a lovers spat,” she said teasingly. Jin merely frowned at her.

“I do not believe there was anything romantic about this disagreement. And truthfully I still do not understand why she felt offended by my words,” he rectified.

“Really?” Makoto asked, but then remembered that Jin had less understanding of other people’s feelings than he seemed to have.

“I have no reason to feign ignorance,” he pointed out irritated.

Makoto laughed hollowly.

“Ahahahaha, true. Well, how to put it…” the beastkin paused wondering how to explain the problem. “She felt you deceived her.”

Jin sent her a confused look. Squirrel girl realized she might have taken a more difficult task than she thought.

“Well, basically she felt betrayed because you contradicted what you said before and I’m guessing that you denied something that left an impression on her,” Makoto guessed. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure what exactly Tsubaki referred to, since it didn’t ring any bell.

“It’s true that I have given her advice like that. However, I never said I believe in it,” the student council president explained.

“Ugh, no wonder she feels like you lied to her…” The squirrel girl nodded her head as she sat on the table. Usually she didn’t do so when other people were in the room, but she was aware that Jin didn’t really care about decorum and it would take some time before Tsubaki calmed down and returned.

“I merely told her what she needed to hear back then,” he said confidently. 

“Good thing that you haven’t told her that,” Makoto said sighing.

“I’m not _that_ insensitive,” Jin retorted.

“At least you admit to being insensitive in general…”

“Anyway, I don’t understand why Tsubaki decided to antagonize me. It is true that I don’t believe that people can ever truly understand each other. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t believe in it.”

“Could you explain it in more detail? It’s not like I am omniscient and know what you are referring to.”

Jin sighed, but turned towards Makoto.

“It was about the conversation I had with Tsubaki not too long after she joined student council during middle school. At that time she was attempting to befriend you,” squirrel girl stiffened in surprise. She didn’t expect that the conversation would have something to do with her. Jin noticed that, but continued unfazed. “At that time you still acted like a delinquent and Tsubaki had trouble connecting with you. Seeing her troubles I decided to help her and gave her this advice.” He paused for a moment searching for words. Makoto didn’t dare to interrupt him. “You probably realize it, but at that time while Tsubaki had the best intentions, her methods weren’t exactly successful. As the third party it was easier for me to ascertain what was needed. Not to mention that unlike her I had better understanding of your mentality.”

Makoto felt slightly embarrassed by that last statement.

“Wait, that’s quite bold confession, you know,” she said trying to sound teasingly, but she felt as if her voice contained only nervousness. Fortunately(?), Jin misinterpreted her reaction.

“I’m merely implying I have more experience than Tsubaki in this matter. I am not trying to imply that I in fact understood your feelings. At that time I didn’t even have any intention to do so,” that was cold, but Makoto wasn’t even a bit surprised. Jin just had very little care for people he did not know. Still, it was a rather harsh truth. “However, unlike Tsubaki I knew how it feels like to be looked down on, so it was easier for me to see why she couldn’t earn your trust.” 

Makoto couldn’t help thinking that Jin was a rather sad person if he viewed relationship between the people in such analytical way. There was just something wrong about putting it like that.

“Usually people would say that they simply understand the other person a bit better, you know,” she pointed out.

“I’m repeating myself, but I wouldn’t say I understood you. I was never bullied, because of my species, so it would be preposterous to claim I do know that feeling.”

Makoto grinded her teeth, as the smile disappeared from her face. It was painful to be reminded of that time when she didn’t have any friends.

Fuck you, speciesism.

“What I knew was merely how it is like to not trust other people. Tsubaki never really understood this, because she was surrounded by too much goodwill. She didn’t know how it is not to trust others, rather than trust them,” he said in a slightly dejected voice. At this point he unfolded his arms and placed a hand on his hip.

“Are you saying it’s a bad thing?” Makoto asked confrontationally. She wasn’t going to stand anyone slandering her friend, even if it was Jin. However, he shook his head in response.

“No, I think it’s a good thing that she didn’t have to experience those things,” he said with sincerity in his voice. Makoto immediately felt bad that she had suspected him. Sure, Jin was a jerk, but not to that extent.

And definitely not when it came to Tsubaki.

Though he was when it came to Noel.

“So, you gave Tsubaki advice how to go about befriending me,” squirrel girl summarized deciding to return to the topic.

“It was a general advice, but yes. It was applicable to your case. And judging by the fact that you are here to hear this story I have reasons to believe it worked,” Jin said and then added with emphasis. “That’s why I can’t understand why Tsubaki is angry with me. It doesn’t matter if I don’t believe in it. Because she believed, she had managed to befriend you.”

“Ah, I see it now,” Makoto nodded, finally understanding the situation. “How to put it… Tsubaki believed in what you said, because she believed you also believed. So it was like you certified it. But now she learnt that this certification was fake. Made in China.”

“So despite its effectiveness, she started to doubt its authenticity?”

“Yes, something like that,” Makoto confirmed.

“Well, I was sure that at this point she could ascertain for herself what this advice is worth. She doesn’t need to rely on my word for everything,” Jin explained his stance. Makoto recalled the first proper conversation she had with the blond boy. At that time they discussed the topic of trust and what he was saying now certainly matched with what he told her back then.

Jin moved without a warning to stand right before the squirrel girl. She was so surprised she almost fell from the table, but quickly caught her balance.

“Thank you for your insight. Since she’s not back yet, so I will need to go and find Tsubaki,” he said.

Makoto moved her ears not sure how she felt about the whole situation.

“To sweep her from her feet and apologize like a proper gentlemen?” She asked teasingly, but somehow she herself couldn’t find this joke as funny as she wanted.

“I do not believe I have any reason to apologize,” Jin answered seriously, but then added in a slightly weaker voice. “However, it was never my intention to upset her and I do not believe this is a matter worth causing such a disagreement.” He closed his eyes for a second and Makoto realized he wanted to say something more. Somehow despite herself she was slightly excited and… anticipating? What? 

At this point Jin leaned forward and looked Makoto into eyes.

“But before I go, there is something I wanted to ask you,” he said and damn if his voice wasn’t pleasant and very, very close. Makoto felt her heart beating faster and she tried her best not to blush or look away. Granted, she wasn’t sure she would be even able to avert her eyes, since Jin was looking at her intently and had a rather serious face.

And handsome. Definitely, handsome.

“W-whaat?” She did her best to not freak out too visibly, but her voice still pitched a bit.

“Would you do something for me?” He asked.

“Y-yes! No! I mean… what exactly do you want me to do?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Continuation. Will Noel catch up with Tsubaki despite her bad PE grades?


	4. Love and sociopathy - Preserved status quo of foolish ones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive, but I'm in the process of regretting it, because I've been literally flooded by all the work and honestly why did I at any point consider doing two academic courses at the same time? I had double the work to catch up to, due to my illness and it only keeps pilling up. Because of that I've been rather exhaused and there's little chance of situation improving, so at best new chapters will be appearing monthly. I'm afraid that my studies are simply too draining right now to establish anything better, especially since I made very little progress recently.
> 
> Damn, that's depressing. Let's proceed to new chapter.
> 
> I would also like to take this moment to add that you may notice that Noel has a bit different characterization than in canon, which isn't really that striking in this chapter, but will become more obvious in later ones. It isn't mistake on my part, but the change I thought necessary, because ~~I never liked how she was portraited in games~~ the premise of this AU required to alter her circumstances the most and it would make no sense for character who is now legitimately 16 years old to act the same way her 5 years old incarnation did. So yeah, she will be acting differently, but I assure you it is going to be a change for better, because it will mostly cut down on some unneeded drama. And that's a good thing because I really have enough drama planned for later.

“Tsubaki! Wait for me!” Noel called, as her friend quickly moved downstairs. The blond wasn’t as good at running as her friend, but luckily even if she couldn’t catch up to her, she hasn’t lost sight of her either. When they got to the ground floor, Noel finally realized that Tsubaki was headed outside. The blond sped up. After leaving the building the redhead could go into any direction and Noel was aware that it would be very easy to lose track of her then. Because of that she once again attempted to close some distance. Her efforts weren’t really successful, but luckily when she reached the entrance she could still see Tsubaki’s figure. After that she didn’t need to chase her much more, because the redhead slumped onto the bench, which was still near the school, but was obscured by some trees. When she did that Tsubaki hid her face in her hands and let out a frustrated yell, trying to muffle it as much as she could. Noel halted for a moment seeing that, but after a minute approached her friend slowly.

“Tsubaki,” she said gently, as she sat next to the redhead.

“Why did I say that?” the student council’s vice-president asked, still hiding her face. “He must hate me now…”

“That’s not true!” Noel denied her immediately. “I’m sure Jin wouldn’t get angry at you for such a reason.”

‘He would get angry at me, though,’ the blond realized unwittingly. However, she quickly abandoned those gloomy thoughts. Right now she needed to concentrate on helping her friend.

“I don’t think Jin is angry at you, he just seemed… confused,” Noel continued in calming voice.

“You think?” Tsubaki asked and made a small sob. “But he was acting strangely and then said those weird things.”

“Uhh, well, we told you already, but he is always like that when his brother comes.” She looked at her friend worryingly and after a pause added. “He should calm down a little in few days.”

‘Calming down’ in fact merely meant that he would get more methodical and recover enough integrity to at least mask his crazy outbursts, but the blond was too innocent to tell that to Tsubaki. From Noel’s point of view what happened to Jin was something akin to illness and consequently she avoided judging his behaviour in his less lucid moments, even when he would turn against her.

Especially when he turned against her.

“It’s… it’s just strange! I’ve known him for almost ten years and it’s the first time I’ve seen him act like that!” Tsubaki cried. “It’s scary.”

“W-well he is,” Noel agreed without thinking, but then remembered that Tsubaki had yet to see Jin being truly scary. “I-I mean he acts differently, but it’s not that strange. I mean we all act differently when we meet our family, right?”

Tsubaki stiffened and then slowly moved one of her hands, revealing part of her face.

“You think that’s it?” Tsubaki asked.

“Well, I think Jin loves his brother, but at the same time they don’t seem to get along, so he might simply feel troubled,” Noel guessed. Truthfully, she did not understand their relationship at all, but she was trying.

“So you think he acts strange, because he feels troubled.. Ahhhh!” At this point Tsubaki finally lifted her head from her hands. Her face was red and it looked like she spilled some tears earlier. “Why didn’t I realize it?! I’m the worst!”

“That’s not true! You were just surprised!”

“No, I’ve known him for so long… I should have realized it myself. After all, you did mention they seemed to have complicated relationship…” Tsubaki said with realization. “I got so used to depending on him that I forgot that he may also need some support. And I said such selfish things,” her voice was full of sadness as she recounted what happened.

“Well, it isn’t easy to read him, so you really shouldn’t blame yourself. I have never had any idea what he might be thinking, Tsubaki,” Noel admitted. “I think it is amazing you can actually tell what he is feeling.”

“Really?” Tsubaki asked surprised.

Noel nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s something only you can do! Since you know each other so well! So you should know that he will definitely forgive you!”

Tsubaki felt that her eyes were filling with tears again, but this time it was because of relief.

“Thank you Noel!” She said, while embracing her friend. “You are right, I was so stupid to think like that! Thank you!”

Noel returned the embrace and smiled happily.

“It’s all right, remember that me and Makoto are always there for you.”

They spent several next minutes just hugging each other and Tsubaki finally calmed down. Her cheeks were still brighter than usually, but she looked more cheerful.

“Ah, we should probably be going,” Tsubaki said. “We left Jin and Makoto with all the work.”

“Maybe you should go to bathroom to wash your face a bit before that,” Noel suggested in a concerned voice.

“Ah, right,” Tsubaki agreed as she stood up. They both started walking towards school, when suddenly they noticed a familiar silhouette. The redhead couldn’t help, but gasp in surprise. “Jin?!”

The student council president also noticed them and quickly moved towards them.

“Here you are Tsubaki! I couldn’t find you anywhere!” He said with a relief.

“You were searching for me?” Tsubaki felt a rush of happiness upon hearing that.

“Obviously, it seems I have made you upset without meaning to. I’m sorry for that,” Jin explained and smiled slightly. He must have noticed that his cousin was crying, but pretended not to, not wanting to make her feel embarrassed.

“No, you shouldn’t worry for me. It was my fault after all. I’m sorry I didn’t think about your feelings at all,” Tsubaki apologized in an agitated voice.

“You don’t need to apologize. I was by no means offended,” Jin pointed out. “I might have used a wrong choice of words, but it wasn’t because I was angry with you. So please, don’t worry about it.”  
After saying that he smiled at Tsubaki. The redhead couldn’t help, but return it. However, Noel who backed up a bit as to not interrupt the scene was feeling unnerved seeing this smile. She could never tell when Jin’s smile were genuine and when they were fake. Still there was no reason for him to fake his smile for Tsubaki and Noel realized she might be becoming too paranoid.

“But thank you for coming, Jin-niisama,” the vice-president said smiling.

“To be honest I also wanted to find you to inform you I was going to leave earlier today. There is something I need to do. I will catch up with the work tomorrow,” Jin explained. It was only then that Tsubaki noticed he was carrying his bag with him.

“Did something happen?” She asked worried.

Jin looked stunned for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure how to reply.

“Nothing grave. But I will need some time to deal with it, so I would prefer to leave earlier today. I was planning to mention it, but then we had this sudden conversation and you left the room, before I was able to tell you,” he explained.

“Is that so, then good luck!” Tsubaki answered smiling.

“Then I will be going. I left Makoto to watch over the room. See you!”

“Goodbye!” Tsubaki said, while waving. Noel also added a shy goodbye, but Jin acted as if he didn’t notice it and already moved towards the school gates.

*

Several minutes later Noel and Tsubaki returned to student council’s room, only to find Makoto almost lying on the table, with her face hidden in her arms. She seemed exhausted and for some reason dejected.

“Makoto? What’s wrong?” Tsubaki asked worriedly.

The squirrel girl lifted her face a bit and said in a hollow voice.

“Jin just… doesn’t understand girls at all.”

Both Tsubaki and Noel looked at their friend in a confusion. Makoto shook her head.

“He didn’t understand why you were angry, so I tried to explain it to him and it was… draining,” Makoto explained with a pause. There was also that part when he made a request, but she wasn’t going to mention that to her friends. “He just couldn’t get it and it was so frustrating…” Her voice trailed off. “Won’t you mind if I go home? Honestly, I’m beat.”

“Ah, of course,” Tsubaki agreed. After all, Makoto wasn’t part of the student council, but merely helped out of her free will.

“Make sure to rest well,” Noel added with a worry.

Makoto smiled, recovering slightly.

“Thanks, Noel, I will. And you ran into Jin before coming here right?”

Tsubaki nodded. Makoto made a troubled face, but her smile remained.

“Next time try to be more patient with him. He can be really dense you know,” she paused and added with frustration. “Like, _really_ dense. Anyway, good luck you two. See you tomorrow!”

After exchanging goodbyes Makoto left quickly.

Tsubaki looked confused at the door, through which her friend left.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Well, being with Jin can be very tiring,” Noel said honestly.

Tsubaki furrowed her brows, but decided to silently return to her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna tries not to be a proud older brother and fails miserably, while Makoto tries to not recognize she has romantic feelings and fails even more miserably (if that's even possible).


	5. Home visit - Parallel protagonists with contrary intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 1st April, where I live, so let's celebrate with a chapter full of comedy and maybe some plot. I certainly hope it will make you laugh, because I grinned like stupid each time I read it.
> 
> And Makoto is a great heroine and I hope this chapter will make you (more) aware of this fact.
> 
> I came up with some ideas for arc names, since there will be probably several and I think I can safely announce that this one will be entitled Entwining Hearts. Also with this chapter we are about halfway through it. Yay!

The nurse’s diagnosis was confirmed on the same day and it was decided that due to his foot’s injury Ragna would not attend school for the next three days, until it healed to some extent. Ragna of course mutinied against it at first, but Jubei quickly pacified him.

“Ya wouldn’t want it getting worse and crippling ya for months, would ya?”

Hearing this Ragna realized that not healing the injury properly may hinder his future fights with Jin. It was already difficult for him to fight his brother now. And if he had a more permanent setback like that…

Jin could actually hold back in a fight with him.

Somehow that idea hurt much more than the injury itself. Ragna realized it would be far more humiliating than the actual loss in a fight. That he could somehow live with. But the idea that his brother would find him pitiful enough as to not exercise his full strength? No, he couldn’t even stand thinking about it.

Stupid pride of older brother.

As a result he spend the rest of the day playing video games. He also asked Jubei to help him practice in dojo after he healed which of course resulted in an embarrassing conversation.

“Yer asking, cause he kicked yer arse, hadn’t he?”

“Of course not!” Ragna denied, but Jubei merely gave a pointed look at his injured foot. Ragna felt himself blushing. “Still, I was the one to land the winning hit!” He added stubbornly.

“And this was a fluke?” Jubai asked mischievously pointing at the leg.

“No, he got better. And much faster,” Ragna admitted feeling a bit of pride, before he remembered that he shouldn’t. Unfortunately, Jubei most probably heard the praise in his voice, because he was smiling knowingly at Ragna. The white haired boy felt like smacking something.

“That ain’t surprising. Younger brothers grow quickly when they look up to their older siblings,” the beastkin said with nostalgia.

“I would say he grows a bit too fast, especially when it comes to his combat skills,” Ragna deadpanned.

“The more they look up the quicker they grow,” Jubei said still smiling.

Ragna felt his ego raising a bit with the realization that Jin’s improvement may have been due to him. Then he noticed that the beastkin was looking at him with a smirk and Ragna realize belatedly that he was actually smiling. He winced, but even the new wave of denial couldn’t completely kill the fuzzy feeling he got after hearing Jubei’s words.

At this point he wondered if he should ask if being an older brother is something one could grow up from, but he realized he doesn’t want to hear the answer. After all right now he could still hope that one day he will overcome his brotherly instincts.

In some hopefully not too distant future.

Screw that, just ever.

Anyway, Jubei agreed to train him some more after he got better, so Ragna didn’t sulk too long.

*

Ragna was sure he would spend those three days uneventfully, but he was proven wrong. The next day Jubei suddenly knocked on his door, before opening them and announcing.

“Oy, Ragna er is a cute lass, who came to see ya!”

The white haired boy, who was half-sitting on his bed gave his guardian bewildered look.

“A girl?” He repeated while trying to quickly figure out who it would be. The obvious person would be Rabbit, but Jubei wouldn’t call her a ‘girl’ and would simply mention her name. “Noel?” He asked. It was the only female person he could think of at the moment.

“No, she said er name is Makoto,” Jubei said, scratching his head and added helpfully. “Has a really lovely tail, if yer ask me.”

Ragna felt his face drop.

“Ah, her,” he said unamused. “She said what she wanted?”

“Oi, oi, what’s that reaction! It’s first time a lass comes visit ya and yer look as bored as ever!” Jubei scolded him.

“She’s just trouble,” Ragna answered and after remembering their yesterday’s conversation he added. “And I think she’s into Jin, not me.”

“Ah, shame, really,” the beastkin sighed disappointed. “Ya really ought to put some effort or he’s gonna take all the best ones.”

“I’m too busy with other things to waste time dating,” Ragna replied. This was true, he really didn’t feel like adding the potential girlfriend to his list of never-ending troubles.

“That’s just cause yer haven’t found the right person. I also wasn’t into romance until I had met my beautiful wife and I tell ya…”

“Yeah, I know! You told me! How about you go get Makoto? She must be sick of waiting!” The white haired boy quickly interrupted his guardian and returned to the main point of conversation. He knew that Jubei could spend hours reminiscing his dead wife.

“Yer right. I will bring her,” Jubei said nodding and left the room. He returned shortly with Makoto. She must have come here straight from school judging by the time and the fact that she was still wearing her school uniform. She was also carrying some heavy looking plastic bags, which she dumped onto the floor next to her after she sat on a chair not too far from Ragna’s bed.

“Hey there!” she said in a happy-go-luck voice. “How’s your foot?”

“Same as yesterday,” Ragna replied unamused. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s cold, I came all the way here and there’s no hospitality,” the squirrel girl said sighing.

“Forgive im, he’s just sulking. Yer want something to drink?” Jubei asked.

“A juice would be nice!” Makoto replied smiling.

“Then I will fetch ya one,” Jubei said happily and left.

Ragna waited a moment and then asked.

“So why are you here?”

“You don’t believe a fellow student would come to check how you are out of their goodwill?” Makoto asked sighing.

“Of course not,” he answered honestly. “Are you here to check on me for Jin?”

“That too,” she admitted. Ragna gave her a ‘who are you trying to deceive?’ look. “All right, all right. Yes, I came here because Jin asked me to. There, happy I confirmed your paranoia and lack of friends?” She asked annoyed.

Ragna’s face dropped, but it quickly returned to his defiant look.

“I don’t want to hear that from his lackey!”

Makoto felt like slapping Ragna.

“I’m not his lackey! I’m his friend!” She hissed. “At least he has some, unlike you.”

“You bitch, what are you trying to…!!!” He started, but didn’t finish, because…

“A juice for ya! Hope orange is fine!” Jubei suddenly materialized in the room, holding a tray with two glasses and a bottle of juice. Both students were so busy with insulting each other that they didn’t notice him at all. “And ya shouldn’t fight, ya know.”

“Sorry,” Makoto apologized quickly. Jubei shot Ragna a look.

“Tch,” the white haired boy said, obviously not willing to apologize, but he quickly gave in. “All right, I’m sorry. I admit, even a jerk like him can get friends.”

“Apology accepted. I’m sure a jerk like you can also get friends,” Makoto replied with a brilliant smile. Ragna once again felt like saying something impolite, but managed to control himself somehow.

“So Jin has made some friends?” Jubei asked interested. “That’s good to hear.”

“You’ve known him?” Makoto asked interested.

“Yeah, although he may not remember me. I’ve met him when he was still a lil boy. It’s hard to believe how much he and Ragna grew up,” he said while chuckling.

“Oy, don’t say weird things old man,” Ragna said, looking uncomfortable. He probably wasn’t used to having others hear about his past. Makoto noticed this, but she wasn’t going to pass a chance like that.

“They must have been cute as children,” she said hoping to continue conversation.

“Ay, I even have some photos if ya wanna see,” Jubei confirmed happily. Makoto didn’t have to think too much whether she wanted to see photos of Jin as a kid.

“I would love to!” she exclaimed.

“Hold on. I will get them,” Jubei said leaving the room.

Ragna threw Makoto a murderous glare.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” he complained.

“Whatever I want,” Makoto said firmly.

“Tch, why’d you ever come here in the first place?!”

Makoto slapped herself into forehead.

“Good thing you reminded me. I came to give you this,” she took one of the bags and gave it to Ragna. “From Jin, with love,” she said in a deadpan voice. “No, wait don’t throw it. It was a joke!” She added, when Ragna almost threw the bag across the room. “Check it out first. That’s a surprisingly considerate thing from him.”

Ragna grunted, but put a hand in the bag and took out a number of notebooks. He checked them suspiciously, expecting some kind of creepy things, but what he found were merely a notes from different subjects.

“Those are…?” He said surprised.

“Yeah, all the notes from the beginning of this semester. I was also given the ones from the last year, because Jin thought you may have education gaps due to changing schools so often.”

Ragna was actually speechless, when he heard that. Meanwhile Makoto continued to prattle.

“I think he feels a bit guilty that you will miss classes because of him since he asked me to also deliver the notes he will make during the next days you will be absent. So, do you want to take the last years notes as well? You can actually keep them all, because Jin said he already memorized everything. And knowing him he probably isn’t exaggerating…”

“Um, yes…” Ragna agreed without thinking. That was probably the most considerate thing Jin has ever done for him and the white haired boy was confused as to what to do about the sudden feeling of gratitude. He looked at the stack of bags and realized that one of them toppled and the content has spilled out. Except what was in the bag weren’t notebooks, but loose sheets of paper and he could see that despite being covered in Jin’s handwriting they were printed out not handwritten. Ragna connected dots in his head.

“Wait, you went to Xerox copy store with those?” he asked suspiciously.

Makoto tried to make an innocent face, but failed too.

“Well, yeah… I mean, I also wanted to have something out of it! Jin’s notes are legendary! It’s said you can’t fail if you learn from them!” Of course this was an exaggerated rumour, but it didn’t change the fact that Jin’s notes were very neat and contained all necessary knowledge. Also it wasn’t like Makoto wanted to take them only for herself. She planned to share them with Noel, who needed some help when it came to learning for tests.

“A true friend you are,” Ragna said flatly, with a disappointed look.

“It’s not like anyone got hurt because I made a copy for myself!” Makoto defended herself. Not to mention she felt like she needed some compensation since Jin pretty much manipulated her into agreeing even if he didn’t realize it himself. It felt extremely disappointing to be asked to deliver the notebooks to Ragna after Jin had leaned over her like that and addressed her in such a serious voice and they were alone and the mood was good and… goddamnit why was she even thinking that? She wasn’t going to go out with him anyway. After all he was Tsubaki’s soon-to-be boyfriend. Except he carried this status for more than two years now and it didn’t look like their relationship was going to reach next step anytime soon. So wasn’t it fine for her to have hopes?

No, it wasn’t, because Tsubaki was her friend and she wasn’t going to betray her like that. Didn’t she promise herself to protect this friendship no matter what?

“Sorry, for the wait. It took longer than expected to find it!” Luckily at this moment Jubei returned carrying the album and gave it to Makoto. She opened it without thinking only to set her eyes on a photo of small Jin. He was wearing a shirt that was too big for him and he was looking at the camera with a mix of surprise and fear. There was something unguarded about his face and Makoto felt she was melting inside a bit. He looked so damn cute.

Then the realization hit her. She wasn’t interested in Jin, she shouldn’t look at those photos. She should avoid temptations like that.

Be strong, Makoto!

Unfortunately at this moment she looked at the next photo which showed a small Jin who was crying. He was sitting and trying to hide his face with his small hand, but failed to and one green eye full of tears could be seen. At this moment Makoto knew she could never forgive herself if she stopped now. There were just things one could not give up on no matter what and seeing photos of small Jin was one of those things.

‘I’m sorry, Tsubaki,’ Makoto thought. ‘But I know you would do the same if you were in my place. And anyone should be forgiven for succumbing to this temptation.’

She turned the page, Jubei stood next to her and commented on the photos.

“Ain’t they a cute lil lads?” He asked dotingly looking at the picture of Jin hiding behind Ragna. Ragna glared at the person doing the photo with the hostility, doing great ‘protective older brother impression’. Makoto studied the picture with interest.

“Wow, so you also had blond hair,” she said looking at Ragna.

He rubbed the back of his head. “Well, yeah.”

“Why would you bleach it like that? You didn’t want to look similar to Jin?” She asked.

Ragna seemed to shrink a bit.

“He thinks white hair is more ‘cool’ or ever you call it these days,” Jubei supplied in a cheerful voice.

“Oh, shut up!” Ragna said as he took the pillow that was lying next to him and embraced it.

“Is that also why he wears red contact in one eye?” Makoto turned to Jubei. “I thought he wanted to pretend to be albino, but then I couldn’t figure out why he left his other eye green.” 

Ragna clutched the pillow harder and tried to pretend he didn’t exist.

Damnit, why was his foot hurt, when he truly needed to escape?

“But wow, they really look similar here, hard to believe they grew up to look so different,” Makoto pointed out and gave Ragna a critical look.

“You implying something?” Ragna hissed hatefully from above the pillow.

“Do I even need to?” Makoto answered with question and smirked at him.

Ragna hurled the pillow at her, but Jubei swiftly caught it.

“Ey, no throwing things at guests!” He said reproachfully. “Wait, hands off the bolster!” The beastkin added seeing that Ragna decided to use a bigger pillow.

“I have enough of your damn snark!” the white haired boy complained, holding the pillow threateningly.

Makoto needed to use all her willpower not to burst laughing, but she knew that if too much chaos ensued she might have end up forced to leave and she wasn’t going to do that, before she had seen the contents of the album.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, waving her hands in surrender. “I’m just still a bit upset about what you said earlier~”

“I’m the one upset here!” 

“All right, all right, peace!” Jubei said, pacifying the youths.

Makoto returned to the album and turned the page only to let a surprised gasp.

“N-Noel?!” She yelled as she looked at the photo of a young girl. She had blond hair and green eyes, just like the brothers and was smiling timidly at the camera. There was also another photo featuring all three of the kids. They were sitting amid blooming flowers. Ragna was in the middle with Jin and the girl at his sides. The picture was full of happiness and innocence. Jin was sitting with a flower crown on his head and clutching Ragna’s shirt, while looking at his older brother with admiration. The girl was also wearing a flower crown. She was kneeling and smiling happily as she put another one on Ragna’s head. Ragna himself also looked surprisingly delighted and while there was a bit of familiar frown on his face, Makoto had no doubts he was as joyous as other people in the photo.

“Idiot,” Ragna muttered. “That’s not Noel, although I admit she looks like a goddamn copy of her.”

“Then who?” Makoto asked puzzled.

“That’s Saya, my… I mean my and Jin’s younger sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna fails to eat his meal in peace and Tsubaki fails at interacting with problematic people, while Makoto complicates her own life even further.


	6. Lunchtime promise - Good Intentions will pave the road to hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably didn't expect next chapter so early and neither did I. However as the Easter break happened I finally had some free time to sit down without having trillion things to do on yesterday, which helped me to make some progress on this story. I got so much inspiration that I in fact finished the first part of this fanfiction. So, yeah I can now confirm that it will end up on 10th chapter which will finally introduce the main idea behind this whole story (and after a short yet important interlude we will continue into second arc!). I'm looking forward to this moment!
> 
> For now, however, enjoy Ragna's flawless conduct towards females and Tsubaki's good intention that certainly pave someone's road to hell.
> 
> And happy Easter everyone!  
> Also yay, we have finally breached 100 hits! Thank you for your attention.

To his unhappiness Ragna returned to school on Friday. His foot still hasn’t healed completely, so he was given a crutch, but it seemed he would be able to walk normally after the weekend.

Makoto also came to visit him during next two days, bringing him notes from Jin, but she didn’t stay long. Somehow they managed to be civil this time and Makoto at one point almost asked him about Saya, but Ragna quickly changed topic. Squirrel wasn’t someone he trusted enough as to reveal this part of his past.

The classes turned out not to be too difficult for now. Teachers went easy on him due to the fact that it was the first day he could take part in classes and he was up to date with the material due to Jin’s notes which just as Makoto said turned out to be an excellent source of knowledge. Now he damn well understood why Squirrel used her chance to get the copy of them, even if he wasn’t going to admit it loudly.

Anyway the day seemed surprisingly peacefully.

At least until lunch break.

*

Ragna was in fact quite good cook and would usually make lunches for himself and eat them in some secluded place. However, due to his injury it was impossible for him to cook something without much effort and discomfort, so he decided to give up on it just this once. He could of course ask Jubei to make something for him, but decided not to.

After all going to the cafeteria would allow him to confirm once more just how much he hated this noisy place and rate the cooking there, only to come to inevitable conclusion that it will be better if he makes the food for himself. It was important to reaffirm his stance on those things.

That was why, when the lunch break came he found himself in a cafeteria with a tray filled with food and searching for a place to sit. There were several long tables in cafeteria, but also a number of small ones, that could only fit four people. Ragna was happy to find one of those small tables free and quickly took it. It seemed that his notoriety had already became a widespread rumour, because most of students actively avoided him and nobody seemed to dare join his table.  
Ragna began to consume his soup (surprisingly edible, 6/10, it lacked some flavour and would benefit from more spices, also vegetables were overcooked), when suddenly someone stood next to him.

“Can I join you?” an unfamiliar female voice asked.

Ragna raised his head. Next to him stood a beautiful redheaded girl holding a tray. She was of average build, but seemed to be rather fit. She had soft voice and tried to sound neutral, but her blue eyes betrayed the fact that she had some sort of prejudice against him. The white haired boy looked around.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to take one of those free tables?” he asked pointing to empty one next to his.

“To be honest I wanted to talk to you,” the redhead admitted. “Is this alright?”

Suddenly he noticed another figure coming his way, this time familiar.

“Tsubaki!” Makoto said loudly as she manoeuvred between other students while holding the tray.

The redhead turned toward her.

“Makoto?” she said surprised. “I told you not to follow me!”

The squirrel girl only smiled in response. Ragna on the other hand frowned. If the whole situation smelled of trouble before, now it reeked.

“I’d rather eat alone,” the transfer student said out loud. “I don’t think there is anything we need to talk about, miss,” he dismissed her and returned to his soup. He didn’t want to eat it cold.

“I’m Tsubaki Yayoi,” she introduced herself. The surname sounded familiar for some reason, but Ragna couldn’t remember why. “And I wanted to talk about Jin,” she said with a serious expression. The boy sighed.

“If you really need to, have a seat. And I’m Ragna, although you most probably already know that.”

“I do,” she confirmed, placing herself opposite of Ragna. Makoto also joined them and Ragna thought about chasing her away, but she looked at him with serious face and he gave up on it. It seemed she was here for some reason and she wasn’t going to just leave, no matter what he said.

“So, how can I help you?” he asked, taking another spoonful of soup.

“What is your relationship with Jin?” she asked seriously. Ragna gave her a level look.

“We are brothers. You would know that much if you just asked Squirrel,” he explained, while pointing to Makoto. 

Tsubaki frowned, but then tried again.

“I want to know if you hate him?”

“I do,” Ragna answered without hesitation. The redhead was visibly taken aback by this firm answer.

“W-why?”

Oh, that’s easy.

“Because he is a selfish, needy kid, who grew up to be a crazy stalker and a jerk,” he listed on one breath. “Also, even after I decided to break my ties with him he continues to ruin my life and I’m treated as if it’s all my fault not his…”

“Jin-niisama is not like that!” Tsubaki yelled, while standing up.

The cafeteria grew silent. And so did Ragna, who didn’t expect such reaction.

“Niisama?” he repeated obviously confused. “She’s his sister?” he whispered to Makoto on the side.

“A cousin,” Makoto replied confidentially. “But don’t ask me how exactly they are supposed to be related. Duodecim has some crazy genealogy.”

“Makoto, don’t say that to him!” Tsubaki interjected, after she somehow recovered from her outburst and sat down again.

“Well, he has the right to be confused, when someone he doesn’t know calls his brother ‘niisama’, you know,” squirrel girl pointed out.

Tsubaki looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t find a proper argument.

“Anyway,” she said trying to return to the original topic. “I came here hoping that I might be able to bridge a gap between you and Jin, but I see it is not possible…”

“No, it isn’t,” Ragna agreed returning to his soup.

“…and that’s because you are a hateful and violent delinquent, just as the rumours said.”

“I’m not!” Ragna shouted dropping his spoon.

“Now, now, both of you…” Makoto said, gesturing for them to calm down. “Everyone’s looking at you, you know.”

However, both of them were a bit too tangled in their strong emotions concerning Jin to care about it at this point.

“That’s true, only a person full of hatred would not notice Jin’s good qualities and slander him like that!” Tsubaki said trying to sound rational and controlled, but Makoto knew she was far from it.

“I think I know Jin long and well enough to know his character and he is a fucking psycho!” the white haired boy pointed out, annoyed. “Who the hell do you think you are to him?”

Ragna’s not really thought out question turned out to be extremely effective as Tsubaki faltered.

“I-I’m his friend of course,” she tried to sound firm, but didn’t. “I’ve known him since he became part of Kisaragi family and we had a good relationship since then…” At the end her voice trailed slightly and even someone as dense as Ragna would notice why.

‘Oh damn, not another one’, he thought, moving his sight from flustered Tsubaki to Makoto, who was glaring at him right now. She obviously expected something and he managed to decode this silent message as ‘don’t you dare open this can of worms here’.

Well, he wasn’t _that_ stupid.

“Ah, I get it. I get it,” he said in a more level voice. “Even though we both know Jin well we ain’t gonna agree on this matter. That’s how it is, isn’t it?”

*

Saying that Tsubaki was annoyed with Ragna was understatement, but she did her best to control those feelings. After all, it was her policy to approach everything in as objective way as possible. Judge all fairly – that was the motto her parents thought her and she strived to live by it. That’s why she tried to act neutrally towards him even though everything she heard about him painted him in an extremely negative way.

She knew he was expelled from a numerous schools for violent behaviour and getting into fights with other student. Moreover she knew from Makoto and Noel that he was very antagonistic towards Jin and strongly disliked him. Not to mention learning that he got into a fight with Jin on his first day! Still, she decided to follow her creed. Instead of labelling him as no-good she approached him hoping to understand him. After all, he might have been another misunderstood person just like Makoto three years ago.

Unfortunately, any goodwill she had was quickly shattered by his hateful words and all the prejudice she previously hid returned with doubled power. Now, from her point of view, Ragna was an angry, uncivilized jerk, who refused to empathize with his younger brother and blamed all his problems on him. He had no intentions of connecting with anyone and Tsubaki could see that he was bent on not forgiving his brother no matter what. A lonely person, barking at everyone around.

In a way he was pitiful.

“It seems you are right. Still I hoped we would be able to find some common ground,” she said. After realizing the white haired boy’s pettiness it became easier for her to control herself. She wasn’t aware of it herself, but that was because she started to look down on him as a lowly thug. However, Makoto and Ragna did realize it from the tone of her voice. The latter winced visibly and former facepalmed internally. Tsubaki’s inexperience in life would sometimes strike in the worst possible moments.

“I’m sorry that I cannot reach the heights, where you reside, princess,” Ragna couldn’t help but snark.

“I’m no princess,” Tsubaki quickly denied.

“Really? You are part of Duodecim. That’s the closest to royalty you can get!” he said loudly, making an exaggerated gesture. “And you even have your own perfect prince. Although it’s unfortunate to say that he originates from the same lows as me.”

Tsubaki hit the table with her palm.

“Don’t even dare to compare Jin to yourself!” the redhead demanded.

“Does it sting so much to realize that he may not be a perfect little prince after all?” he asked mocking her.

“You…”

“Both of you stop it!” Makoto finally interrupted. They paused and looked at her still emanating hostility. “Tsubaki, that’s why I told you that coming to talk with him is a bad idea. You just aren’t on the same wavelength. And Ragna, I know you aren’t one to discriminate, but don’t bully her.”

“Makoto, that’s…” the redhead started, but Ragna interrupted her.

“Hell, of course she isn’t. Sorry I didn’t appreciate it before, but at least you have some idea what you are talking about, Squirrel. Unlike her.”

“I would accept this praise, if you didn’t insult my friend at the same time,” Makoto said sighting.

“I’m just saying the truth. She claims to be wise and understanding, but she is nothing more than sheltered princess, who thinks she does,” Ragna explained unapologetically.

“RAGNA!” Makoto said with emphasis.

“Right, right. Sorry, for insulting you,” Ragna turned to Tsubaki, but there wasn’t much heart in his apology. “Is there anything else you want from me?” he asked. There was a suggestion that he hoped they would finally leave him alone, so he can finish his lunch in peace.

“No, that’s all for now,” Tsubaki said, standing up. “But I may approach you in the future, if I deem it necessary.”

“Right,” Ragna said, returning to his soup, which was barely warm at this point. “Take care of yourselves.”

Tsubaki paused, not sure how to answer. “You too,” she finally added and turned around carrying her tray.

“See ya!” Makoto waved to him as she followed her friend.

*

They still had their lunches so they took a small table away from Ragna and sat down. Tsubaki sighed.

“That didn’t go as a planned,” she finally said.

“We told you that it was a bad idea,” Makoto replied tiredly.

“You did, but I needed to try,” Tsubaki said stubbornly.

After her talk with Noel, she decided that she should help Jin somehow instead of only relying on him. Helping him reconcile with his brother seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, when she shared it with Noel and Makoto neither of them supported the notion.

*

“Ugh, bad idea, bad idea,” Makoto said quickly, waving her hand. 

“I… agree with Makoto,” Noel added.

Tsubaki looked at them bewildered. They were all sitting in the student council room. Their class was called off, so they came here to somehow pass time and as they talked about various things, the redhead decided to share her plan. She was really enthusiastic about it and the unexpected opposition to her plan threw her off.

“Why are you against it? Don’t you want to help Jin?” she asked raising her voice slightly.

“Ah, no, that’s not it…” Noel replied quickly, frantically waving her hands.

“Trust us, we would also be happier if those two finally made peace,” Makoto said sighing. “We really support the intention, but it’s just…” 

She trailed off not sure how to say it as to not hurt Tsubaki’s feelings.

“You just aren’t the right person, Tsubaki!” Noel said instead of her. Makoto raised her eyebrows slightly. Her blond friend has finally overcome her timidness during the last two years, but it still felt unnatural, when she stated her feelings on the matter so boldly. Maybe because she didn’t do it too often.

“You don’t believe I can do it?” Tsubaki was more surprised than offended. “I’m well versed in negotiating and I know Jin well. I’m sure that with some goodwill I will be able…”

But Noel merely shook her head.

“You just aren’t the right person…” she repeated, obviously having problems with explaining why exactly.

“Then who would be a better person to try bringing the brothers together?” the readhead asked.

Apparently, Noel didn’t have to think long.

“I think Makoto would be better.”

“What? Me?” squirrel girl yelped surprised. The blond nodded.

“Wait, why Makoto?” Tsubaki asked. “What does she have that I lack?”

“Umm… temperament?” Noel tried.

“I think she wants to say, you won’t get along with Ragna,” Makoto helped.

“Yes, that! You two aren’t very compatible…” the blond agreed.

“Why?” Tsubaki crossed her arms. It was true that she has never meet Ragna, so any image she had of him came from her friends description.

“He’s… a lot like me at the beginning of the middle school. He’s not a bad person, but he’s just fed up with everything.”

“Ragna is a good person,” Noel said strongly. “He’s just not good at expressing it.”

“That was how I imagined him. And I believe I managed to communicate with Makoto in the end.”

Squirrel girl suppressed the hollow laugh.

“It was more of the joint effort of you and Noel,” she pointed out. “And it’s similar, but not identical. Ragna has some problems I didn’t have.”

Like brother issues in all meanings of that world. Makoto never thought her family was perfect, but at least it was supportive and not fucked up like that. And honestly, if all the scraps of information she was collecting were true the family life of both brothers was dysfunctional and no wonder they grew up to be not exactly stable.

“Also you and Makoto had some similar points, but it’s not like that with you and Ragna,” Noel continued. “Your backgrounds are too different.”

“So you say we are completely incompatible?” Tsubaki ascertained. “I knew it would not be easy, but you are saying I have absolutely no chances?”

“Sad to say, but yeah…” Makoto admitted.

“So why exactly Makoto would be better?” Tsubaki turned once again to Noel.

“She has siblings, so she has a better understanding of how both of them feel,” the blond explained. “You are the only child, so…”

“But, I did have Jin-niisama…” she trailed off.

“Yeah, but you don’t exactly want him to be your sibling,” Noel pointed out gently. Tsubaki wanted to add something, but she choked on her words. Makoto bit her tongue, as to not blurt out that they weren’t exactly sure what Jin wanted to be to Ragna. While she and Noel loudly agreed that it was just an overblown brother complex, Makoto herself wasn’t so certain of it. After all she could attest that Jin showed far more interest in his brother than in any women, as far as she knew. Which was disconcerting to say the least.

Then again, he did show some interest in Tsubaki, so there was some chance he was into girls, right? Makoto wasn’t going to judge anyone when it came to sexual preferences as long as everything was consensual and legal. And even when it came to legal she was willing to overlook some things. But despite that she couldn’t stop herself from contemplating Jin’s interests in this matter. And she really hoped he was into females.

Although she wasn’t sure if she hoped for Tsubaki’s or for her own sake.

“Makoto not only understands bonds between siblings better, but also the feeling of being outsider. And well, it is not that I’m doubting you, but I think she would be less biased,” meanwhile Noel continued her reasoning, unaware of Makoto’s musings on Jin’s sexuality.

“I’m always trying not to be biased in my judgements!” Tsubaki proclaimed.

“I know and I respect you for that Tsubaki, but well… No matter how much you try can you really stay unbiased when you are to mediate between Jin and Ragna? You know Jin ever since you were small and you look up to him greatly and well…”

Noel paused, but she didn’t need to continue. Her point came across, as Tsubaki slumped slightly.

“I don’t know. But I would still try my best,” the redhead admitted.

“We know you would, but sometimes good intentions just aren’t enough,” Noel explained while lowering her head. “I said that Makoto would be better simply because that she haven’t known Jin much longer than Ragna. It is simply easier for her to be objective.”

‘No, it isn’t,’ Makoto thought. After all she did have a big and soft spot for Jin no matter how much she denied it. Still, she would be more objective than Tsubaki, who was pretty much blind to all the vices Jin possessed. That she couldn’t deny.

“Then, are you going to help Jin and Ragna get along, Makoto?” Tsubaki asked, moving her sight to Makoto. There was some sort of steel in her eyes and the squirrel girl shivered slightly.

“Ah, no. I have no intention to,” Makoto quickly denied. Above everything she was aware that bridging the gap between the brothers would make her spend more time with Jin and Makoto didn’t trust herself not to take advantage of that fact. And even if she didn’t she still wasn’t exactly sure as to what Jin’s intentions were and if he actually was romantically interested in his brother both she and Tsubaki would lose on this. So it was better to leave this alone. If they won’t interfere everything will just remain familiarly dysfunctional. Which was way better than any unknown dysfunctionality.  
Even if Makoto herself wasn’t fond of status quos this was better than fucking up the situation even more.

Tsubaki nodded and moved to the blond.

“And you Noel? Are you going to do it?” she asked.

“No, um… I’m not the right person,” the blond admitted and Makoto immediately realized why. For some reason Jin hated Noel, so if she tried to mediate between the two situation would only get worse. Not to mention the shy girl would suffer from it.

“Then, that leaves me no choice. Even if I’m not the best person, I will do it,” Tsubaki said with finality in her voice.

“Ey, did you listen to what we said earlier?” Makoto asked annoyed.

“I listened and considered your input. Someone needs to do something and I will be that person if I have to,” Tsubaki explained while crossing her arms. She looked at watch and added. “The lunch break is starting right now, if I go I might be able to talk with Ragna a bit.”

After that she didn’t wait and simply left. Makoto quickly moved after her.

“I said wait!”

The doors slammed and Noel was left alone in the room.

“Huh? Wait, you can’t just leave me like that. Jin will be here soon…” she said, feeling tears stirring behind her eyes. Somehow, she always ended up with the short end of the stick.

*

“You may not understand it Tsubaki, but meddling in the siblings affairs isn’t an easy thing,” Makoto explained, while eating her salad. “It’s like stepping into a field full of land mines. One wrong move and a family drama explodes right into your face.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to help with it?” Tsubaki asked.

“Exactly!” squirrel girl exclaimed. It wasn’t the only reason, but still it was an important one. “You always had a good relationship with Jin, so it may be difficult to imagine, but being siblings usually means you have a long and tumultuous past with the other person. There are fun things, but there are also things you can’t stand, the unforgotten grudges, the embarrassing secrets. All sort of stuff!” She explained, while gesturing wildly. “You can’t expect that they will just forget all of that.”

Tsubaki looked dejectedly at her food.

“Noel, might have been right. You understand the situation better than I do.”

“Doh. Obviously,” Makoto said pouting. “We warned you, because we were worried you might make the matters even worse. That’s why we were discouraging you.”

Tsubaki downcast her eyes even more.

“I should have thought it out more,” she understood.

“Well, yeah. That’s part of what Noel talked about. You are acting way more frantically than you usually do,” the squirrel girl agreed as she finished off her salad.

There was a pause as Tsubaki continued to stare at her food. She hadn’t touched anything, as she was too busy thinking. Suddenly she lifted her head and looked straight at her friend.

“Makoto,” she finally said. “I know it is horrible of me, but I need to do it nevertheless.”

“What do you mean, Tsubaki?” the girl asked confused.

“Please, help me repair their relationship,” she begged.

“But I already said I don’t…” Makoto started, but the redhead didn’t let her finish.

“I know. It’s despicable to do that, but I have no choice. I have realized I’m helpless on my own. Please, help me! No, help Jin!”

The brunette opened her mouth to reject the request again, but fell silent at the last part. It was simply unfair of Tsubaki to ask this! So extremely unfair! But Tsubaki’s firm eyes pleading her to help _Jin_ of all people were something she couldn’t just ignore.

Stupid naive redhead friends and equally stupid handsome crushes.

“Alright, I will help Jin,” she agreed. “But I’m not happy about this and you are making a huge debt here!”

“Thank you, Makoto!” Tsubaki exclaimed, almost hugging her friend across the table. “I understand. I will make sure to repay you someday for dragging you into this mess.”

“You better will,” Makoto winked, but internally she felt tired. Was it really okay? Then again it was better than letting Tsubaki and her good intentions run amok. At least right now she could influence her friends actions. “Let’s start slowly. For now we should wait to see how the situation will shape. They haven’t seen each other for more than a year, so it’s highly possible that their relationship will change even without us interfering.”

“Yes, you are right,” Tsubaki agreed.

“For now let’s just act normally. I will try to keep my eye on Ragna and…” At this point she stopped speaking, because someone started sobbing nearby. Both girls raised her heads only to see Noel standing nearby and sobbing quietly.

“How could you leave me alone in the room like that…” she complained in a cracking voice. Makoto quickly pieced the facts together.

“Ugh, sorry we left you alone with Jin in the room…” the squirrel girl apologized.

“You are horrible…”

“Yes, we are. I’m really sorry!” Makoto apologized once more.

Maybe she worried for nothing, she realized. After all some things just didn’t seem to change. Jin hated Noel, Jin and Ragna had their weird violent relationship, and she, Noel and Makoto continued to be friends. There was no way those things would change so easily like that. She was stupid to worry about those things. Their friendship was safe, Tsubaki will probably sooner or later start dating Jin and the brothers’ relationship will probably never change. Understanding that, she smiled to her friends, but there was something missing from the smile, as though she wanted to believe that it was for the best.

*

At that point Makoto and her friends were blissfully unaware that everything would change, as their intertwining destinies would push them into the direction none of them could imagine in their wildest dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Brotherfeels! Sensitive people may be advised to prepare tissues (I wish I was joking). Also someone you have probably waited for makes an appearance but probably not in a role you expected.


	7. Close yet distant - Brothers' Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time of month! Time to post new chapter it is! Unfortunately, since the hectic time of final projects, final tests and final everything is coming my way I won't have enough peace of mind for proper editing, so there is a little chance of new chapters in the nearest future (not to mention that ever since Easter my muse is much more Senyuu inclined than Blazblue inclined). That doesn't mean it won't appear. It might just take more time, if I get burried under the workload just like the last time.
> 
> WARNING! This episode contains a fragment which is Jin's POV and which is likely to cause an attack of feels. Sensitive people are advised to prepare handkerchiefs, chocolate or whatever else they might need beforehand. I'm not joking. This is why I didn't do Jin's POV until now. I swear, you are one sad jerk.
> 
> Masochists are, of course, free to additionally play some sad music when reading the final part for the enhanced "feels punching you repeatedly in the stomach" experience.

Ragna wasn’t really a paragon of intelligence. His grades were average at best and his tendency to speak before thinking never made him appear as a smart person. However, Ragna possessed a certain amount of savviness that helped him survive in this harsh world.

He knew that if something bad could happen to him it would.

He knew things would naturally spiral towards violence.

He knew that annoying other people wasn’t a smart thing to do, but he was really good at it.

He knew that people would whisper things behind his back, but rarely confront him.

He knew that the universe hated him.

And he could be sure that Jin would be stalking him in his free time.

*

“You can stop pretending you aren’t there,” Ragna said, as he suddenly stopped in his track. He tried to sneak out through one of the fire exits, so that he could leave without using main entrance. He hoped that by avoiding main gate he would be able to avoid meeting Jin as well. Of course it was a futile hope, as the blond was too cunning not to take this possibility into account.

Jin walked slowly as he left his hiding place. Ragna winced. He didn’t want to see his brother right now even more than he usually did. Mostly because said sibling had actually done something nice for him for a change and Ragna was extremely conflicted as to what to do about it. Hate and gratitude simply did not mix up well, so the white haired boy hoped to avoid his sibling until he figured out just what he is supposed to think about this.

Which basically meant avoiding Jin until he gets another good pretext to re-establish his hate.

“You are as sharp as ever, Nii-san,” the younger sibling cooed happily. 

“And you are as creepy as always,” Ragna replied involuntary taking a step back. It didn’t seem that the blond was carrying any weapon, but his brother knew better than to lower his guard down, until he was sure there was no threat. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to meet you,” Jin explained with an innocent smile, as he tilted his head. While continuing the conversation Jin started to slowly close the distance between them. He did it in a small and measured steps, so that his brother wouldn’t notice this. “Makoto told me you were better, but I wanted to see for myself.”

Ragna sighed.

“Really, why did you have to send Squirrel? She was damn annoying…”

“Was she?” Jin asked confused. “Makoto is a bit bizarre, but she is rather reliable and I thought she was the best choice. I might send Taro next time,” he added thoughtfully.

“I hope Taro isn’t another girl,” Ragna added exasperatedly.

“No, he is a guy,” Jin replied, surprise audible in his voice. He was obviously missing the point of Ragna’s comments, but tried to keep the conversation going nevertheless.

Ragna suddenly felt bitter and it took him a second to understand why. While Makoto did say that Jin had friends, the white haired boy unconsciously denied this truth. After all, the only people that he knew were interacting with him was the girls’ trio and at this point he was aware that two of them had a crush on Jin and Noel most probably just tagged along with her friends. The revelation that Jin in fact possessed some sort of male friend would prove that he actually had some social life.

Unlike Ragna.

“He is my classmate. He can be a bit annoying, because of his easy going attitude, but most people seem to enjoy his presence,” Jin added a bit of explanation.

Ragna felt his spirit lift slightly. Maybe he was acquaintance rather than friend after all.

“You too?” he asked curious.

“If I didn’t I would have ditched him a long time ago,” Jin pointed out. “He had been clinging to me since the beginning of school. I thought it was because he was also connected to Duodecim, but it seems he just enjoys my company.” 

Ragna’s hopes shattered and all that was left was the feeling of utter failure in comparison to his brother. How did that sociopath even make so many friends?

“But he has been busy recently with some family stuff to the point when he doesn’t even have time to attend to student council duties. Well, he would usually try to skip them anyway, but lately he hasn’t attended them for justifiable reasons. Still, I will make sure to consider him in the future, Nii-san,” Jin ended with a brilliant smile.

“Please, do,” Ragna answered absent-mindedly too busy struggling with his own thoughts to muster any effort. Fortunately, he recovered enough to return to his snarky persona. “Squirrel was too damn nosy.”

And too damn correct in her assumptions.

“Was she? That’s strange,” Jin furrowed his brows. “I always valued the fact that while she is definitely full of curiosity she has good judgement as to when to utilize it.”

Ragna finally understood. The reason why Makoto was so intrusive was because she wanted to get some information on Jin out of him. It actually made sense. Jin would probably hate her if she asked him questions that were too personal, while she didn’t really care if Ragna was annoyed with her. White haired boy grinded his teeth. Why was he being dragged into the love life of his brother, when he wanted to have as little to do with him as possible in the first place?

Ragna entertained the thought of asking his brother if he noticed that he has two girls interested in him, but quickly dropped it. He had a feeling it was a horrible idea that would end up inconveniencing him even more. He had enough problems already and maybe he should finally address the one bothering him right now.

“Oy, I said this before, but stop pretending you aren’t there!” Ragna said loudly turning towards the shed standing close by. There was a startled sound and after several seconds a green haired man in work clothes emerged from its shadow.

“I’m sorry if I interrupted you,” the man said apologetically, raising his hands.

“How long do you think you’ve been eavesdropping on us. And who the hell are you anyway?!” Ragna muttered looking at the man. He looked extremely average to the point where most people would probably not notice him. Maybe if wore some better clothes and did something about the fringe that almost completely obscured his eyes he would be more noticeable.

“I’m janitor here. My name is Kazuma Kuvaru,” the man introduced himself. Fortunately he didn’t extend his hand, because Ragna was sure he wouldn’t shake it.

“And why exactly were you listening to us in the shadows?” the white haired boy repeated his question, not hiding his anger. Meanwhile, Jin, who was slowly but steadily closing distance during their earlier talk, stood close to his brother and also looked at janitor with disapproval.

The green haired man started acting even more anxiously.

“Ah, no, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop! I was just taking something out of the shed and then I heard voices and it seemed like bad idea to go out, since you seemed to be in a bad mood and I didn’t want to accidentally bother the legendary Grim Reaper even mor…” Kazuma was so caught up in his explanation that he realized too late just what exactly he had said. He raised his head slightly, shivering, afraid to see what Ragna’s reaction would be like.

White haired boy just sighed annoyed. He suspected his reputation has already spread through the school, but he didn’t expect that even some lowly janitor would be wary of him.

“I think that rather than bothering us, you should return to your work,” Jin said very coldly and Ragna belatedly realised that his brother was standing right next to him. He didn’t jump away, only because his leg was still hurt and he would probably trip if tried to do that with his crutch.

Instead, he tried to slightly move away with as much dignity as possible, while continuing to stare angrily at janitor. Ragna hoped he would listen to Jin and go soon, because the white haired boy wanted some peace and quiet without any witnesses so that he could angrily look at his brother and criticize him for infringing on his personal space.

Honestly, it was so difficult nowadays to have a proper disagreement with one’s younger brother without anyone interfering.

“Yes, of course. I was on my way,” the man quickly left chased away by the threatening stares of the pair of siblings. Ragna sighed internally.

“What an annoying guy,” he commented loudly.

“Yes, I never understood why he got a post even as a janitor. He spends more time idling than working,” Jin agreed. However, the frown on his face instantly turned into a smile, as he looked at his older brother. “But he’s gone now so don’t worry about him.”

Ragna hesitated for a moment. For some reason he felt wary about the janitor. There was something fishy about him and somehow he had a feeling he had seen him somewhere.

Those thoughts were quickly dismissed, because irrational suspicion of stranger had to make place for a more rational suspicion of psychotic brother.

“Jin, I think I told you already, but don’t fucking come close to me!!!” as he said that, Ragna swung his crutch aiming at his brother’s knees. The blond quickly jumped away avoiding the attack.

“Don’t be so cold, Nii-san,” Jin answered in a childish tone.

“I haven’t forgiven you just because you gave me some of your notebooks!!” Ragna answered seething with anger. “I will never forgive you!!”

Jin answered with a silent laughter that gradually increased in volume and insanity. It was extremely creepy laughter and it had tendency to give goose bumps to those unused to it.

To those used to it as well, but Ragna heard it often enough to build a solid resistance.

“That’s fine. That’s really fine, Nii-san,” Jin managed between the laughs. “I really couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Ragna threw him an even angrier look. Jin calmed down a bit and added in a more level tone of voice.

“I would like to stay more, but I have some duties I cannot skip. Please, make sure to get better. Rest well and after you return to top condition how about we have some good fight. Just you and me,” Jin’s speech while still childish got more and more ominous. Still, Ragna wasn’t one to back away from challenge.

“Bring it on, bastard. This time I will make sure you will taste dirt.”

“Hahahahaha. Then, see you later, Nii san,” after hearing the confirmation, Jin turned and left. Ragna kicked the dirt with his sound foot.

“That bastard,” he muttered and without thinking reached with his left hand towards the shoulder, before he stopped himself, realizing what he was doing. He shook his head in annoyance and started moving towards the exit. This day just got worst and worst.

Well, at least he was sure he would get his rematch.

*

Jin sighed internally. He really wanted to spend more time with his brother. Unfortunately, he had a family dinner to attend and he couldn’t just skip it.

“Family” dinner. What a disgusting joke.

Well, they were supposed to be somehow distantly related to him. At least he was told that his mother was, but truthfully he couldn’t care less. His mother abandoned him by giving him to Kisaragi family. Their father was honestly no better, leaving Ragna with the beastkin.

At this point, he doubted if she even was their real mother.

Well, at least Ragna got some proper supportive family, not a contraption of one. And he ended up in dojo, so he could train to his heart’s content.

Jin felt a bit of an envy, but he quickly tried to extinguish those feelings.

It was fine.

It was fine that way.

His brother’s happiness was more important than his. Ragna would probably explode after a day in Kisaragi household. On the other hand, Jin could cope with it. He could endure it.

Because he still had a true family. As long as he had his brother he didn’t care about anything else. After all, his brother promised he would never forgive him. Even if he was hated it still earned him a place in Ragna’s heart.

So it was fine.

Because it would be foolish to wish for something more.

Thinking that, Jin arrived at the gates of his house. Truthfully, he wanted to live at the dorms. Taro even said he would happily share the room with him, but Kisaragi family was against it. Tsubaki also lived in a house belonging to her family, but at least in her case her family was a genuine one. 

Honestly, why didn’t they allow him to live at the dorms? It’s not like they cared about him, as long as he continued to stay alive and didn’t cause too much trouble and pretended to be a perfect human being before people that counted. It remained a mystery, but he could cope with it. Since they wished for it he would pretend it was fine.

And everyone would believe that lie.

Because he would make them believe it. Everyone, even his brother.

No, especially his brother.

A heavy gate closed behind him as Jin entered his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yeah, that was sad...)
> 
> Next chapter: Ragna once again fails to eat his meal meal in peace... or rather eat it at all due to having strong opinions on dietary habits, while someone else regrets appearing in the wrong place at the wrong time.


	8. Lunchtime discord - Childish argument of impatient ones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still alive and still writing. Yep, that is me. Even if I'm being slowly crushed by the amount of work I have I shall not give up on writing for my own sake. And maybe for my readers. You are awesome. I love you. Platonically. I will love you all even more if you kudos me or comment. Just saying.
> 
> Anyway the countdown is up. The previous chapter began to set the stage for the rematch and this one continues to do so. Although this chapter was mostly one big indulgence, because I couldn't give up the idea of this clash. Not to mention it was sort of necessary. We still have a certain important character to introduce. You can probably guess who.
> 
> Ah, I don't write fighting scenes too well, do I?

Ragna’s foot returned to usability during the weekend. He still had to watch out for it, but he could finally walk without crutch and of course he immediately set out to train. Jubei supervised him to make sure he didn’t overexert himself, which resulted in Ragna being scolded and hit with a practice sword several times.

Still, Ragna quickly found himself adjusting back to his training stances. His not-exactly-loss-since-I-won-in-the-end during his battle with Jin wasn’t caused by the lack of training, but rather the fact that the white haired student had tendency to not utilize his knowledge. While he was fighting with Jin during their middle school Ragna had a strict training regime which he followed to make sure he didn’t lose against him. However, once he went to different high school his motivation deteriorated quickly and the training schedule was abandoned. Of course, it wasn’t like Ragna didn’t get any training at all. He would get in fights in every high school he went to to the point where he earned a fearsome and probably exaggerated moniker “Grim Reaper”. Sadly, his opponents usually consisted of people with little to no combat skills, so in his fights Ragna started to rely more and more on his superior strength and speed rather than technique. Jin, on the other hand, continued to refine his technique in order to compensate for his slim figure. While trying to achieve perfect sword skills he ended up personalizing his fighting style to the point, where he pretty much invented one of his own. This style relied so heavily on Jin’s heightened fighting senses and ability to predict the flow of battle that, as Makoto described it, “normal person would need to have an extra pair of eyes on their back to be able to use it at all and even then they wouldn’t be half as good as him.” Ragna’s style seemed to be a lack of style, but that wasn’t correct. It was in fact a horrible cluster of professional techniques and thug style of fighting. It seemed to be painfully straightforward to people who couldn’t match up to him, but any skilled fighter quickly got a headache when trying to analyse it.

Except Jubei, who got used to it and believed that any technique was good as long as it was effective. 

And Jin, who thought it was a beautiful fighting style which fitted Ragna very much. 

Truth was probably somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, returning to the roots of his fighting style was what Ragna needed to do. Right now, his fighting technique was too close to the thug style to be effective against Jin. What the white haired boy needed was a return to basics and adding more technical elements to improve his technique. And he needed to improve fast, if he wanted to beat Jin during the rematch

*

“So, I ended up here again, huh,” Ragna muttered to himself.

It was Tuesday and the transfer student once again found himself in the cafeteria during the lunch break, although this time he was armed with his homemade meal. The reason why he returned here was really rather simple.

“I can’t believe I forgot to take any utensils,” he sighed. It was an understandable mistake. After all, the unassuming, but important items like forks or chopsticks were the ones that were always the easiest to forget. That’s why to be able to eat his meal, Ragna had no choice but to eat in the cafeteria. He, of course, had an option of just taking the cutlery and eating elsewhere, but someone could misunderstand it as his attempt to steal those and that would be just damn embarrassing. Because really, how desperate one had to be to want to steal the cheap and overused cutlery from cafeteria?

Therefore, Ragna took the fork and knife from the box and sat at the small empty table. He would rather eat in some quieter place, but it wasn’t half bad. Yesterday he didn’t manage to find any good eating spots, so having a proper place to eat like that was actually nice. He would resume his search tomorrow but right now, he should just enjoy his meal. Luckily, this time no one should interr… Someone placed his own boxed lunch opposite the Ragna. The white haired boy wanted to protest immediately but the voice died in his throat, when he looked at the intruder.

“Good morning, Nii-san,” Jin greeted him happily, as he sat on the chair. “I missed you, so I thought we could eat together today.”

Ragna watched in horror as his younger brother, still sporting a brilliant smile started to unpack his meal.

Eating in cafeteria might have been a bad idea after all.

The white haired boy could feel that the number of students looking at their table had suddenly increased. Which wasn’t that surprising, after all Jin was something of a celebrity. Right now half of the school was probably gossiping about their relationship, trying to figure out if the fact that they were brothers was actually true. Students present in the cafeteria had one of the few chances to see them next to each other and could compare them properly. Ragna could hear the whispers going through the room.

“They aren’t similar at all…”

“Kisaragi-senpai looks really happy…”

“…now that I look at them they are similar after all…”

“Grim Reaper is looking this way!”

“…that’s scary glare…”

“…somehow he lacks Jin’s coolness…”

“…I heard he single-handedly beat…”

“Are they really brothers?”

“I would love to have Jin as younger brother…”

“…I think they have similar eyes…”

“…but really, what if in fact they are…”

“Nii-san, aren’t you going to eat?” Jin’s voice returned Ragna to reality. Honestly, what was he doing getting his guard down like that? Just because they were in crowded area, he shouldn’t be careless in his brother presence. Who knows when the little rascal may strike?

‘The little rascal’ looked at him and smiled a bit more timidly. Ragna realized that in fact they haven’t eaten together since they were little. During middle school they never did sit down peacefully to eat their lunch together. What they were doing right now was in fact a huge step in their relationship.  
Was this the sign that he was growing up or merely going insane?

Ragna tried to distract himself from this dilemma by unpacking his own lunch. It was a rather simple meal of rice and beef with sauce. Or rather a lot of beef with some sauce and rice. While he was doing this Ragna glanced at his brother and noticed the content of his lunch box.

It was salad. There was no meat visible, only lettuce, tomatoes, olives, tofu and some other vegetables. He scrutinized salad more closely and to his relief he realized there was a small amount of seafood mixed in it, but it was more for a flavour than as a proper part of the dish.

Somehow this sight completely sobered Ragna up.

“Jin, are you still avoiding eating meat?” Ragna asked frowning.

Or not.

Younger brother’s mood visibly dropped.

“I make sure to maintain a proper intake, Nii-san. You do not have to worry about that,” he answered in a level tone of voice. He took some of his salad and continued to eat, obviously not wanting to continue the topic.

“A proper intake? Like hell, look what you are eating. You know how important proteins are for a proper functioning of a body,” Ragna continued, getting more agitated. Somehow he felt he couldn’t allow Jin to have bad diet. What if it ends up deteriorating his health?

“Proteins are also present in products other than meat. I simply consume more beans, soya and whole grains products,” Jin retorted also getting agitated. “And you are the one that should be worried about, you clearly aren’t eating enough vegetables, Nii-san,” Jin accusingly pointed to his brother’s lunch box.

“I eat enough of them,” Ragna countered, which was a half-truth considering that he maintained a proper intake of vitamins through the dietary supplements. Still, Jin wasn’t going to easily believe that, so both of them ended up staring at each other with hostility, visibly ignoring everything else. Rest of the students looked at them with a slight confusion. At this moment Makoto, who went to search for Jin arrived at the cafeteria and let a small “oh, no” when she saw them.

“You are always like that Nii-san! You never finished your vegetables when you were younger and acted as it was fine!” Jin complained loudly.

“And you barely ate anything and do you know how much effort it was to get you to ever finish your meal, you bastard!” Ragna responded, slamming his fist onto the table.

At this point the tension in the air was palpable. Makoto quickly gave up any thoughts of interrupting them, she was too late to stop the clash that was about to occur.

“I-I just needed less food!” Jin answered somehow taken aback. It was clear that right now he was somehow embarrassed by this part of this past. “And I was a bit picky back then, that is all…”

“A bit picky! You were one lucky bastard for not having to test Saya’s cooking experiments!” Ragna added annoyed.

He belatedly realized his mistake and barely managed to avoid Jin’s fork. After the last comment, Jin lunged it toward his cheek. He was only trying to graze Ragna to make a point, but such action would definitely develop into a fight.

“Don’t mention her,” Jin said, his eyes widening dangerously. His voice was quiet and his tone was calm, but Ragna could clearly see that his brother snapped. “Don’t mention that…”

The white haired student didn’t wait for the rest and instead clenched the knife and counterattacked. Jin quickly blocked the attack with his fork. Ragna had partially risen from his chair and was now glaring very closely at his younger brother. 

“That what? What were you trying to say? Spill it out and if it is something bad I swear I will kick your ass here and now!”

Jin remained seated and lowered his gaze.

“That’s mean. That’s really mean, Nii-san,” he muttered quietly.

Ragna raised his eyebrows as he continued to stare at him angrily. Their cutlery remained interlocked for now, as neither of them was willing to back down.

“Just don’t bring her up! It’s between us! She has nothing to do with it!” Jin raised his voice, as his grip on fork got stronger.

“Of course it has! Are you stupid or what?!” Ragna shouted.

The dull sound rang up as they crossed their cutlery once again.

“It was always about what you did on that night you bastard,” Ragna hissed.

“Maybe. But she’s gone now and has nothing to do with us anymore,” Jin answered giving his brother a cold stare.

Another dull sound rang up.

“Yeah, because of you,” the white haired student said hatefully.

“Not my fault our parents were a bunch of jerks, Nii-san. In the end I only sped up what was inevitable. Maybe you should be even thankful,” Jin added with a thoughtful not.

The cutlery crossed yet again, but this time both of them ended up standing, as this attack was more ferocious than the previous ones.

“It’s because of you that Saya is gone! I have nothing to be thankful about!” Ragna spat hatefully, as he broke their clash and backed down.

“Your ungratefulness pains me, Nii-san. But even if you don’t appreciate what I did I can live with that,” Jin answered as he also took his distance and grabbed someone’s knife with his free left hand.

“Of course, you can, you son of a bitch.”

Jin sighed.

“Please, choose your slanders more carefully, Nii-san. I find it disquieting whenever you use ones that also reflect negatively on you.”

As if on cue, they have both charged. Jin slashed diagonally with his knife, which he held in reverse grip. Ragna jumped backwards to avoid the attack. Jin immediately turned it into a straightforward attack, as he plunged forward. Ragna this time blocked the attack with his own knife, but Jin merely used the fork in his left arm. Older brother noticed it at the last second and used his free arm to catch Jin’s arm and flung him sideways. The blond twisted in the air and landed perfectly on the floor. 

At this point cafeteria was in chaotic state as most of the students escaped from the closest vicinity of the fight, but somehow none of them could bring themselves to hide or stop watching the fight. Most of the students remained seated as they watched, obviously enjoying the show. The fight felt unreal, since the brother’s weapon of choice was the cutlery used in cafeteria which was so dull it would be outright difficult for them to do any serious harm to each other as long as they did not target each other faces. Therefore, it felt more like a show than a real struggle. Even Makoto, who stood not far from the entrance was aware of that, so she simply stood in place hoping for the fight to end soon. She had noticed that some girls who were exiting cafeteria when the fight broke out run off saying something about getting a teacher, so it was possible some adult would stop them soon.

Jin threw the fork he was holding and grabbed another one from the table next to which he ended up landing. The fork flew towards Ragna, but was reflected mid-air and after some spinning landed on a table occupied by now startled students. The older brother moved to offensive and rushed towards his brother, sliding a chair towards him. Jin jumped on a chair before it hit him and used it to jump away from Ragna’s attack range. Of course the white haired boy wouldn’t allow that as quickly closed the distance between them, which prompted another cutlery clash.

Makoto sighed as she watched the fight. There was something depressing about Jin acting like five year old in front of the rest of school, even if right now most people remained unaware of his immaturity. Despite that Makoto realized she was feeling a second hand embarrassment about what was happening right now. Honestly, those two brothers were just too much to handle… 

Meanwhile, Ragna and Jin continued to utilize their outstanding sword skills in a way that none of their instructors ever expected to as they continued to attack each other with a cutlery. At this point they started to add more variability to their fight as they started to use chairs and tables in a more combat oriented fashion. Jin jumped onto a table, which Ragna sent his way, but quickly moved onto a chair, avoiding a slash. Ragna tried to follow, but the younger brother nimbly made his way between a number of chairs, while Ragna just crashed into them. Jin once again flung some cutlery, but the white haired boy blocked it without problems, as he simply jumped onto the chairs to bypass them. At this point both of them ended up near the entrance to cafeteria. They clashed once again, but Jin broke it and backed up, probably to rethink the strategy. Ragna meanwhile decided to use the opportunity to finish this fight and flung a plate with someone’s dinner right at Jin. However, he aimed a bit too high, so Jin easily avoided the attack by crouching. And so the plate continued to fly…

“What is going on h…”

PLASK

…until it hit the face of a person who had a bad luck of entering cafeteria at that time.

Namely, the face of janitor, Kazuma Kuvaru.

The plate fell to the floor and, by some sort of miracle, didn’t break, but only cracked slightly. All the students in cafeteria watched the scene in a tense silence.

And then burst out laughing.

Pretty much everyone succumbed to laughter, except for Kazuma, who was desperately trying to wipe out the mashed potatoes from his face to preserve at least some dignity and the pair of brothers who looked at each other with a slight confusion trying to determine if this means the end of their fight or if they should continue with it. Some people had enough integrity to pull out their smartphones to take photos of humiliated janitor. Makoto giggled as she appreciated the exact beauty of the scene from where she was standing.

However, even as she laughed she was aware. She looked at the confused duo of awkward brothers.

‘You are both idiots and you are going to be so screwed for this.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Enter principal! Ragna and Jin get scolded! And everything can be easily explained if you have a right power point presentation prepared.


	9. Enter Principal- Admonishment from the Wise One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have more or less survived the exam session (I still have a resit on Monday, but this time I should be able to properly memorize the notes), so here is a new chapter. Next one will be the final one for this arc. I plan to post it after I return from the trip, somewhere in the middle of July. Stay tuned!
> 
> And if you don't know, the Eighth Grade Syndrome is the infamous Chuunibyou.
> 
> So, enjoy the next chapter of Ragna's Snarky Adventures as he antagonizes yet another female character. Gosh, you will never get a girlfriend with such an attitude. No wonder that it is your brother that has any pairing tags on this fic and not you.

Both brothers sat next to the doors leading to the Principal’s Office. Usually the principal was absent, leaving all her duties to the vice-principal, but today by some sort of coincidence she was actually present.

“The principal will receive you in a moment, after she finishes her current duty,” the vice-principal Valkenhayn announced after a short talk with the principal.

“That probably means she needs a moment to save,” Ragna commented out loud. Valkenhayn shot him a hateful look, which said ‘this is all your fault’. Jin just looked surprised.

“So you have heard about principal’s hobby?” he asked curious.

“Somehow,” Ragna answered vaguely, not sure how to explain the fact that he was probably the person responsible for the said hobby. Then again, it would be unfair to blame it on him. The Rabbit was supposedly an adult, so she should be the one held responsible for her own choices.

Especially since he was barely eleven years old at that time. 

“Principal is often absent, so most of the people treat it as an overblown rumour along with the ones saying that she consumes only tea, is a thousand years old and is in fact a vampire,” Jin decided to keep conversation going by giving some insight into school’s gossips.

Ragna snorted.

“A vampire? Well, she certainly dresses like one.”

“I think this rumour is mostly based on the fact that vice-principal is a wolf beastkin which relates strongly to the myths of werewolves. And due to principals youthful appearance and fashion sense it isn’t surprising that people would think of vampires, which were usually closely correlated with the werewolves,” Jin explained.

“That makes sense,” Ragna agreed. “She certainly makes a fine impression of a true blood-sucking demon when she wants.”

“I would appreciate if both of you stopped discussing the matters of me and Madame Rachel, as though I was not present here,” Valkenhayn chimed in with a warning in his voice. “Especially you, young fool.”

Ragna sighed.

“Spare me a bone. I have all right to be fed up with her at this point.”

“So you know principal?” the blond asked curious. It seemed Jin has suspected as much from the way his brother referred to her.

“Old friend of Jubei. She visits him quiet regularly, so I had to put up with her and her humours ever since I started living with him,” the white haired boy explained as he winced.

“I see.”

Valkenhayn still looked at them, or rather at Ragna, with annoyance. He seemed to have no ill feelings towards Jin, which in the older boy’s eyes was totally unfair. He was about to say something snarky, but before he voiced any thought he would later regret the beeping sound came from vice-principal’s pocket. The beastkin quickly got up and opened door leading to the principal’s office.

“Milady awaits you,” he announced. 

Jin and Ragna sighed simultaneously. Jin’s sigh was more of a casual one, directed at the general idea of dealing with anyone who had authority long enough to take the annoying high and mighty outlook on life, while Ragna’s sigh was one that he specifically reserved for Rachel, which translated to “no, I do not want to deal with you again, you damn childish adult, but circumstances force me to and I’m goddamn annoyed because of it, but I shouldn’t act impolitely towards you, which makes me double frustrated and damn I hate your guts” into a single respiratory sound.

They silently entered the principal’s office. It was a medium room, which seemed spacious, but at the same time didn’t appear to be too big to be occupied by only one person. After entering it one would immediately set their eyes on a huge wooden desk behind which stood a huge red armchair in which sat the principal, Rachel Alucard. She wore a black gothic dress adorned with white frills and red crosses. Her long blond hair was tied with black ribbons into two long pigtails. She possessed a rare beauty and elegance, which would have made her alluring.

If she didn’t look like she was twelve.

Both boys stood awkwardly before the principal, who not only was much shorter than them, but also looked much younger. She slowly raised her head and looked at them with a scrutiny, but also a hint of amusement.

“Is there something you want to say before I begin asking questions?” She asked.

Right on cue both brothers pointed at each other and said in unison. 

“He started it!”

“He started it.”

Rachel looked at them with a smile spreading across her face.

“So should I punish both of you?” She asked lazily.

“That would only be fair,” Jin pointed out. “After all both of us caused a disturbance in the cafeteria. And I’m very sorry for that,” the blond apologized sincerely. He seemed to truly regret losing his calm and causing a commotion.

“Oh, and you Ragna?” Rachel asked as she moved her sight to the older brother.

“I’m also sorry,” the white haired boy assured the principal.

She nodded slightly.

“It is true that you managed not to cause too much damage. The only reported losses are two knives and a fork you used as improvised weapons and a cracked plate. On the other hand, you have caused the biggest commotion we had in a long time. Honestly, what should I do with you?”

“I believe in such cases rules suggest suspension of student’s rights for a month. Although, I don’t think this is a suitable punishment in this case,” Jin said entering his helpful student council president mode.

“Oh, and why is that?” The principal was visibly amused.

“Because losing student’s rights in my case would also mean losing my position as student council president,” Ragna sharply moved his head after hearing this, but Jin continued in a monotonous voice. “Considering that student council members already have much work due to upcoming school festival, it wouldn’t be advisable to force them to search for a new member on such a short notice. Consequently, such punishment would inconvenience school much more than me. At the same time it would be considered unjust if we were to receive a different type of punishment for the same offense.”

“Yes, you are absolutely right,” Rachel agreed. “Truthfully, I have considered all manner of interesting alternative punishment for you two.”

There was a pause as both boys waited for the principal’s verdict. The woman who looked like a girl used mouse to open something on the laptop.

“There were some concepts of punishment that I would have really liked to put into practice and I was ready to choose one, but then… Then I saw this!”

As she proclaimed that, Rachel turned the monitor that stood on the side of her desk towards the brothers and used the mouse to start the video. It featured two boys swinging cutlery around the cafeteria as other student watched.

“Wait, there are security cameras in school?” Ragna asked surprised.

“They are placed for safety purposes,” the principal answered. At the same time video reached the point where Ragna threw the plate, which missed its original mark and instead hit the janitor. Rachel paused and now they could see a smile of utter delight spreading on her face. 

“Bull’s eyes!” She said, barely stopping herself from giggling. Both brothers slightly raised their eyebrows, but other than that they managed to maintain poker faces. 

“It was unintentional, but it seems we have managed to improve your mood,” Jin commented as neutrally as he could.

“Yes, you did. That was great accomplishment and I even have it recorded,” Rachel answered, quickly retaining her composure. Such outbursts were uncharacteristic for her. It seemed that for some reason she found the janitor’s misfortune absolutely hilarious to the point of breaking her usual cold exterior.

“Good for you,” Ragna answered while failing to hide his sarcasm.

“So this time as a principal I will show you both leniency, as one of you is a new student, who is still not accustomed to our facility, while other is an esteemed student council president. Is that clear?”

“Yeah,” brothers answered simultaneously in unmotivated tone. 

“Then that is it, for the main issue. However, I want to talk to you for a moment Ragna,” she sent Jin a look which clearly conveyed she wished him to go. He returned a suspicious look, but bowed slightly.

“Thank you for your understanding. I promise to control myself better in the future,” the blond boy assured her.

“Then you are free to go.”

Jin didn’t move at first, as if he also wanted to stay, but upon seeing cold gaze of principal he bowed once again and left quickly.

Rachel waited for several seconds before she turned towards Ragna.

“Ah, so are you having fun in my school?” As she said that she pulled a PSP out of the drawer and turned it on.

“Oy, don’t start playing while you make me stay to have a small talk, you damn Rabbit,” Ragna complained angrily.

“Just joking,” Rachel deadpanned swiftly hiding the console. “I’m truthfully interested in your impressions on this educational institution.”

“I didn’t have many classes yet, so I can’t say much about the teachers, but they seemed to be a rather… colourful bunch,” Ragna answered diplomatically.

“And other students?”

“As usual. Other people in my class are keeping distance and nobody there seemed to have any balls at all. They only kept whispering behind my back,” the transfer student explained slightly annoyed.

“Ah, so it seems my school isn’t to your liking.”

“It would be more to me liking if certain elements, like my brother, weren’t also attending it,” Ragna said shooting a glance at Rachel.

“What can I say. It was your decision to come to this school and you knew very well he was here. You know Ragna, contrary to what you have just said I got the impression that you were rather happy.”

The boy let an exasperated sigh and looked at the principal in disbelief.

“Do I look like I’m a goddamn happy person?” He asked ironically.

“You do,” Rachel admitted without blinking.

“Nonsense!” Ragna shouted moving away from the desk. He started to circle around the room as he continued to argue with the principal.

“I guess being dishonest when it comes to your feelings is a trait you both share.”

“We are nothing alike!”

Rachel turned the monitor’s screen towards Ragna once more, the video paused on the image of both brothers charging at each other with very similar expressions.

“Obligatory family resemblance aside,” he corrected himself unhappily.

“I think the more proper adjective here would be irrefutable,” Rachel replied with a sweet smile.

“Unwanted,” the white haired student parried.

“Striking.”

“Minor!”

“Unbelievable.”

“Close to non-existent!”

“Amusing.”

“Disgusting!!” Ragna spat hatefully. Rachel looked at him pityingly.

“You always act like a five years old when you quarrel.”

“I’m just lowering my standards to match your childish mentality. People your age shouldn’t obsess over video games.”

“You are also playing them!” Rachel retorted. Ragna stopped moving around and faced his conversation partner properly.

“I’m a high school student. It’s normal. But it’s unbecoming of a proper adult who works as a principal,” he explained with an evil smile.

“Dear Ragna, the difference between you and me is as follows. I’m a respectable adult with a high social standing, steady income and huge savings. This makes my gaming hobby a mere eccentricity. You, on the other hand, are a talentless student, who repeated a year _twice_ and has no perspectives for the future, which makes you merely a loser.”

The white haired boy clenched his fist, but continued to smile belligerently.

“However you wish to excuse your hobby, princess.”

Rachel shot him a look. She was well aware that ‘princess’ was in fact an insult Ragna usually used when he addressed girls or women who he found selfish or patronizing.

Naturally, this derogatory term was actually coined during his interactions with Rachel.

“I told you not to call me that,” she said dismayed.

“Then stop picking a fight with me. It’s enough that my own brother does that. And I honestly have enough of his bullshit even more than yours.”

Rachel looked at the student in silence and suddenly started chuckling.

“Who are you trying to deceive, Ragna? Because even if you sincerely believe it to be true I refuse to play along with your delusions.”

“What the hell do you mean?” He asked confused. For some reason, the confident way she spoke about this subject made him feel uncomfortable.

“You really need me to spell it out? Then your delusions are truly impressive, if you don’t even realize yourself how well it was prepared. Do you perhaps suffer from Eighth Grade Syndrome? Do you believe yourself to be a rebellious hero fighting with an establishment represented by the educational system? And then Jin would be your rival. Yes, that would make sense…”

“It doesn’t!” 

“Oh, really? You seem rather happy with antagonizing him. Isn’t it great that _he_ plays along with your vision of the world?”

“He doesn’t play anything!” Ragna shouted as he slammed his hands on the desk. Rachel leaned forward with the hint of a smile.

“You seem very certain of it. So tell me, what do you know about the human known as Jin Kisaragi?” The principal was obviously mocking him and Ragna almost spat hearing that.

“I’m his brother of course I know him,” the boy said with certainty.

“That’s interesting, because we have already established you don’t even know yourself and yet you are claiming to possess a superior knowledge of what your brother is like. And if I may add, you are rather similar, so your claims are further discredited.”

“You proved jackshit, Rabbit.”

“Indeed, we have sidetracked. Well then, allow me to analyse the scenario constructed by Ragna Bloodedge!” At this moment the projector, which stood on one of the bookshelves and was connected to laptop, was turned on by remote in Rachel’s hand. On the wall to Ragna’s right was now screened a presentation titled ‘A story of lonely hero’.

“The hell,” the white haired boy commented eloquently.

“A true adult is always prepared. Remember that.”

Rachel smiled widely.

“Now let us begin a pitiful story of…” Her words were interrupted by a sudden knocking. The principal shot an annoyed look towards the door. “Enter.”

The door opened slightly and Valkenhayn snuck in.

“Excuse me lady, but the meeting you have scheduled will begin shortly and it is high time to start preparing for it.”

Rachel paused for a moment.

“Ah, yes, meeting,” she said absently and turned towards Ragna. “You must excuse me but there are important matters I need to attend. We shall continue some other time.”

“Whatever, Rabbit,” Ragna said turning around. “Have fun with your adult responsibilities.”

He left followed by Valkenhayn’s hostile glare and Rachel’s unreadable expression.

*

However, after he left principal’s office and walked a short distance he was quickly greeted by another surprise. Jin was leaning on a wall in a nonchalant manner as he visibly waited for Ragna. The white haired boy tensed. Was Jin going to pick another fight? Or was he angry at Ragna for almost being kicked out of student council? The transfer student stood in place not sure what to expect. On the other hand, Jin upon noticing him, moved without restraint.

“Nii-san. Actually, I approached you today, because I wanted to give you a message,” the younger brother explained getting straight to the point. “Things went in unplanned direction, so I waited here to pass it.” After saying that, Jin handed Ragna a piece of paper. “I found a place where we can fight. The address and time is there. I hope you are free this weekend,” Jin said with a smile.

Ragna paused.

“You…”

“Don’t worry. I found a secluded place so this time there should be no one to call the police,” the blond assured him. Ragna wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the words. There was a feeling of wrongness. A bad feeling that he should not go there. That he should stop.

“Is something wrong?” Jin asked. “If you can’t come for some reason…”

An uncertainty entered his voice and Ragna felt slightly dizzy. Was he having doubts too? There was something strange about the atmosphere. Something surreal. Or rather oneiric. 

“Of course I will come!” Ragna said loudly, but his voice didn’t feel as if it was his. He felt more like an actor reading script. “If you think you have beat me last time you are damn mistaken and I will prove you bastard wrong!”

Somehow at this point the emotions had caught up with him and the aura of strangeness subsided. Reality once again felt real, but the feelings caused by this strange premonition didn’t leave Ragna completely.

Jin smiled once again upon this affirmation. 

“Then see you later Nii-san,” he said and started to walk away. However he stopped after several steps. “Ah and one thing,” he added quietly, as if he wasn’t sure of what he was saying, but the next part was told in an unwavering psychotic tone Ragna knew so well. “Make sure to bring you _proper_ weapon.”

Ragna watched his brother disappear behind a corner, while clutching the paper he was given.

He was unaware that the wheel of fate was already slowly, but steadily turning towards the unknown future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The not-really-final battle! Swordfight! Creepy subtext! Under Heaven Destruction!


	10. Calamity for Two - Under Heaven Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I didn't rest as much as I wanted and I suffered a bit too much during the trip to call it successful... Well, I'm still not back at my home, but I'm in a place that has Internet, so I can post this chapter! Afer this I will probably return to slightly irregular, once a month update, because my muse has been on vacation as well and I'm somehow writing the chapters much more slowly now.
> 
> Anyway enjoy the final chapter of this arc. I don't think I need to tell you what soundtrack is recommended. It's in the chapter title anyway.
> 
> I hope you will like the plottwist at the end, because the whole buildup up till now was for the sake of this moment (and the less planed future), but honestly I just needed to make you aware just how much everyone will be screwed now.
> 
> Enjoy the struggle of the two idiotic brothers and aftermath of their equally stupid decisions!

If Ragna was sure about something at the end of this week it would be the fact that his new high school employed weirdos. As a person who lived with a beastkin, had a crazy and jerkass younger brother, and the only person with which he had more lasting relationship was the childish adult gamer, Ragna felt that if he came to such conclusion then his teachers really were beyond help.  
Paradoxically, the most normal one of the bunch was Tager. Sure, he was more than two meters tall, had muscles that put to shame not only Makoto, but any other being in the world, and a red skin that looked rather unnaturally, but other than that he was one of the most professional teachers Ragna have met. He was patient and methodical, making the math classes more enjoyable than Ragna thought it possible.

Bang Shishigami, the PE teacher had obviously some screws loose and was way too enthusiastic about the life. However, he was obnoxious at worst and while he tried too hard to maintain his image, he was extremely kind hearted. It was said that unless one doesn’t antagonize Bang he will make anyone pass no matter how bad their performance is, as long as he is sure that the student made an effort.

Amane Nishiki was a self-proclaimed pursuer of beauty, which manifested in his choice of clothing and make-up. He just seemed to be a bit too much in touch with his feminine side. Not that Ragna had something against strange sense of fashion other people displayed. If his teacher wanted to wear kimono to school and use lipstick then be it. However, the way this kimono revealed Amane’s slender legs wasn’t really something that could be considered professional, nor were his rants about beauty during Japanese classes or favouritism towards physically appealing students.

Relius Clover was weirdo, who constantly wore a mask. He was said to be an esteemed professor just like Kokonoe, but he mostly felt like a creep. Because of that biology was widely accepted as the most hated subject. There was just something extremely unsettling about his approach to this subject. Or rather his approach to other beings in general. Especially other human beings. It was said that rest of pedagogical body also found Relius presence extremely uncomfortable. Kokonoe outright loathed him due to some grudge from the time both of them worked as scientist rather than a teachers. It was a mystery why both of them suddenly abandoned their promising carriers and ended up working in the same high school as a teachers. Relius was too enigmatic to get those information out of him, but seemed to enjoy school life a bit, especially after encountering a certain first year student who he found fascinating.

Kokonoe, on the other hand, was visibly displeased with the fact that she has to teach in high school. She was an academic type that spend most of her life in laboratories and now couldn’t get used to the fact that she is supposed to teach people that have no idea about physics. She would loudly admit this to herself. And to her class.

“Ah, I should be teaching at university. You know, any university in this rotten country would give me a post without thinking twice about it. I would have an army of students who would at least have some general idea about what Newton’s Laws are. But no, instead I’m teaching a dimwits like you, who can’t catch such a simple notion no matter how much I explain it. At least your tests suggests so. We will go through them once again. So the first law. First law is that if you don’t fucking act upon an object it won’t move or it will be moving at constant velocity. Got it? It’s simplified explanation, and if you comprehend the complex one then all the better. One of you might actually get A for once then. As for the second law. It’s just a goddamn formula and it’s as plain as it may be,” Kokonoe pause to write ‘F=ma’ on the board. “See this? You know what the letters mean and you can recite the whole thing. All you need to do is remember the fucking formula. F-M-A. Just remember in this order. I hear there is even some popular manga with title shortened to this letters, so if your brains can’t comprehend physics maybe you can comprehend the title of some shitty manga. And third is as straightforward as it can be, because it merely means that if I ever punch any of you for being an idiot then my hand would hurt as hell, because there would be equally strong force acting in the opposite direction. And I would probably punch with all my might and then regret it, because there would be a shit ton of newtons acting upon my hand as well. You understand that?”

Her teaching methods were painfully crud, but somehow effective. While most of the students feared Kokonoe, she had no problem with engaging student’s attention and her explanations were usually so amusing that students remembered them. Although, sometimes when she got truly angry she had tendency to start a monologue that was filled with expert knowledge to such an extent that nobody in the class could understand it. Fortunately, such instances were rare.

*

Ragna would have actually enjoyed those classes if he wasn’t busy experiencing an internal struggle. The reason was the fight with Jin that was supposed to take place this Saturday. The fight that was idiotic no matter how one would look at it. Ragna was painfully aware that he shouldn’t be taking part in it. It was stupid and potentially dangerous. Heck, Jin suggested bringing real weapons not the wooden swords they usually used. They have only ever attempted using those once and Ragna considered it a good fortune that police caught them before they have managed to hurt each other. Ever since then they had a sort of silent agreement about not using anything remotely sharp. Most often they settled for wooden swords. Really, why did Jin even suggest using actual swords? The white haired student had a sudden feeling he was unaware of something important and he recalled Rachel’s words.

_So tell me, what do you know about the human known as Jin Kisaragi?_

The question tormented him much more now that he was left alone with it and he suspected that it had been her intention all along. Stupid Rabbit, who knew him too well.

He didn’t have a honest conversation with Jin ever since that incident ten years ago and he didn’t want to have one. Ragna subconsciously gripped shoulder of his right hand. 

“That’s right. We don’t have anything to talk about. Jin didn’t have anything to say to me. So why should I have anything to say to him?” Ragna muttered to himself.

In the end, the only way they were able to communicate right now was by clashing their swords.

*

That was why on Saturday afternoon Ragna found himself in a bus wishing that police won’t stop him on the way, because in a huge bag that he carried on his back was an equally huge sword and Ragna was sure he wouldn’t be able to explain himself. However, the only thing he suffered were suspicious stares of other passengers and Ragna reached his destination without problems. Jin was already waiting for him at the bus stop. Just like Ragna he was wearing casual clothing, but while Ragna was more heavily dressed sporting his usual red jacket under which he wore a black shirt and jeans, Jin had a long blue sleeveless shirt and a pair of black leggings. Even now they remained a study in contrast.

“Did you have nice trip, Nii-san?” Jin asked happily as Ragna descended from the bus. Jin also had his sword hidden in a long bag, but since his weapon was almost longer than him he looked as suspicious as his brother.

“Don’t screw me with me and just lead to that goddamn place,” the white haired boy answered coldly.

“As you wish,” Jin answered moving towards the huge building they were supposed to fight in. It was an abandoned factory belonging to Kisaragi family. Ragna looked at it as felt the resurging wave of doubt. In the end he hadn’t told anyone about the fact he was going to duel with Jin. He wanted to tell Jubei, but couldn’t bring himself to. He knew Jubei would stop him, because what they were attempting to do was stupid. Dangerously stupid in fact. The factory was some distance away from other buildings so if one of them got hurt it would be impossible to quickly get help. If both of them get grievously wounded they might even die. It was honestly an idiotic trip, but Ragna didn’t do anything to stop it. He couldn’t bring himself to. It should have been simple, but somehow it wasn’t. He shouldn’t be here, he shouldn’t be getting into a swordfight with his brother, he shouldn’t hate his brother so much…

Ah, right, that’s how it was. He couldn’t stop right now. It was all very simple. He couldn’t stop this fight, because he couldn’t forgive Jin. Even now, ten years after it happened, hatred circulated through his blood like a poison.

“How stupid,” Ragna murmured to himself.

They finally reached the fence surrounding the facility. There was a barbed wire at the top of it, but they didn’t have to worry about it, because Jin used key to simply open the passage. They entered building in similar way. After that Jin continued to lead him through the labyrinth of corridors and stairs.

“Do we have to go so far?” Ragna asked as his anxiety started to rise.

“Those corridors are too narrow to fight in them,” Jin explained in his composed tone, but there was an edge to it and Ragna could tell that the tense atmosphere was also affecting him. “There is a room big enough at the lowest level, we should be reaching it soon.”

Ragna looked around nervously.

“Are you sure this building is safe?” He asked seeing some abandoned equipment. It seemed that whoever worked here abandoned it more than a year ago, but not much more than that and Ragna couldn’t imagine why someone would leave such a place unattended when it could be used for variety of purposes.

“The building’s structure is fine and there is no radiation in the building or anything of the sort. From what I could tell from documents the project they worked on here was terminated for unspecified reasons. It was so confidential I couldn’t find any information on it, but it seemed they merely finished researching whatever they tried to research and had no purpose in continuing the project.”

“I see,” Ragna said. He was experiencing a bit of his irrational fear of ghosts, but building wasn’t run down enough to feel haunted and after reminding himself that it was still a bright day outside Ragna chased away those thoughts.

They passed through yet another doors and stopped inside a huge room. It was very spacious and all of its surfaces were covered in metal. Most of it was painted in a dark blue colour except for floor which was the only grey metallic surface. There were some lights installed in the room which made it possible to see inside the room despite the fact there had been no windows.

However, what struck Ragna the most about this place was the aura of great power. There was something wrong with the room. No, rather there was something in the room. He couldn’t see it, but it was definitely there and it was somehow familiar and if he could concentrate he might remember, remember something long, long ago, something, there was something…

“Nii-san!” Jin’s voice snapped him back to his senses. Ragna realized he was clutching his right shoulder as he stared at the room with a strange expression, while his brother was looking at him with worry. “Is something wrong?”

The white haired boy looked once again at the room, but the strange aura had subsided. Did he imagine it? However, his instincts were screaming at him to get away from here. He was sure there was something here. Something they couldn’t see. Something dangerous. Powerful. But that sounded just stupid…

“It’s nothing. So this is the place you were talking about?” Ragna asked, dispelling his baseless worries. He should be concentrating on the upcoming fight with Jin, not his weird impressions of the room.

“Yes,” Jin confirmed putting his sword on the ground to unpack it. The older brother once again noticed that there was something off about Jin, but couldn’t tell why exactly. However, he felt that the blond was also wavering. His behaviour was usually erratic whenever they interacted, but this time it felt as if Jin was bottling up his feelings instead of spilling them as he usually did.

Ragna hesitated and muttered.

“You…”

Jin who was crouching next to his sword, turned towards his brother waiting for the rest of his words. He even inclined his head slightly in a way that reminded Ragna very much of their childhood and times when Jin knew much less and would watch everything attentively.

“…are you alright?”

Time seemed to freeze. Jin’s expression changed slightly and the white haired boy could tell that the question actually shocked him. The blond remained rooted in place not moving and not saying anything, still clutching his sword.

“Um, Jin?”

The younger brother moved slightly, but he still didn’t say anything.

“If you aren’t feeling well we can do it some other time,” Ragna added. The tense silence was starting to make him uneasy. No, even worse. He was feeling concern towards his brother. Screw the fight and this spooky place, if there was something wrong with…

Jin finally raised, while holding his sword and then…

“Kuhahahahahahahahahahahaha! You, are actually worrying about me, Nii-san? Me? Aren’t you displacing your worries right now? You want to worry about the person who is about to cross swords with you? Isn’t that cute?! Ah, your naivety was always amusing, Nii-san. I didn’t feel like laughing for such a long time! Kuhahahahaha!”

Jin’s laughter echoed through the empty room, while Ragna felt his blood boil. Here he was worrying about this goddamn jerk and he…

“Ah, aren’t you the one whose mistaken here, you bastard? I wasn’t worrying about you,” the older brother proclaimed as he unzipped the bag and took out his sword. It was a one edged weapon with a surprisingly wide blade. Due to its size it should have been wielded with two hands, but Ragna seemed to have no problems with wielding it single-handedly. “I just didn’t want you complaining later that I only managed to kick your ass, because you weren’t feeling well!”

“You don’t have to worry, Nii-san, I will be going all out,” Jin assured as he gripped the sheath of his sword. Unlike Ragna’s strange weapon, which didn’t even seem to be a sword, Jin’s looked like a proper katana; except it was surprisingly long, doubling the standard length of a katana.  
Meanwhile Ragna finished unsheathing his weapon, Blood-Scythe, and swung it lightly.

“You ready, Jin?” he asked nonchalantly, but he was very aware of tension and anger cursing through his body.

The blond took a fighting stance.

“Let’s begin, Nii-san!” Jin shouted in his distorted childish voice. Immediately both of them charged forward and clashed. After a moment they exchanged several blows, obviously testing the waters. They weren’t used to fighting using actual weapons, so now both of them were anxious about getting serious.

“Is that all you’ve got, Nii-san?” Jin asked, as they clashed once again.

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who is holding back!” Ragna shouted as he attempted to kick Jin. The younger brother sidestepped and then backed a bit before launching another attack. Ragna barely dodged and his jacket got torn. He also felt a small stab of pain which suggested that he was slightly cut.

“Damn, my jacket!” Ragna voiced his annoyance, but somehow Jin seemed to get more into the fight as he quickly continued his offensive. Ragna blocked next attack. However, Jin quickly relocated himself, somehow almost getting behind the older brother, and Ragna was forced to duck to avoid next attack.

“Oy, what do you think you are doing?” He asked. The attack just now was serious. If it connected Ragna would bleed quite a bit.

“I thought we were fighting. Unless I’m the only one…” Jin said in a childish tone with a hint of a sadness.

“Bastard,” Ragna spat and countered. He violently swung the sword trying to overpower his brother and Jin was forced to go into defence. The white haired boy lashed the flurry of attacks and finally one of them caused Jin to lose balance. Ragna swiftly launched another one. Jin tried to escape the attack, but he wasn’t fast enough…

Both of them stopped. Ragna looked mesmerized at blood flowing from Jin’s cheek. The cut wasn’t too deep. He stopped himself at last moment. However, he still hurt Jin and blood was flowing. The blond who had sheathed the sword slowly raised his free hand to his cheek and then lowered it to see it covered in blood.

“Ku…”

Ragna knew what was coming. They should be stopping right now. Call it a day. Admit it was a stupid idea and that they should never do it again.

That’s how it should have gone in a perfect world.

But this world was not perfect.

And neither of them was going to stop.

Ragna knew he should be feeling guilty about the wound he has just caused, but he wasn’t. The adrenaline was flowing through him numbing his reason and everything seemed to slowly melt in a violence. He wanted to continue fighting, to overpower his opponent.

Jin also didn’t seem to be keen on stopping the battle, as he descended into yet another fit of laughter.

“Kuhahahahahaha. That’s it. That’s what I was waiting for. Ah, I love it. I truly love it. There is nothing better than facing you like that!”

Shouting this Jin charged unsheathing his sword in a blindingly fast attack. Ragna barely dodged and now as they clashed both of them looked into each other’s eyes. Jin’s pupils were extremely dilated and there was a hint of madness in them. Ragna’s eyes were in fact no better, as he looked like someone who enjoyed himself. Like a frustrated person who was in a process of beating someone to feel better to be exact.

“Let’s do it! Let’s kill each other, Nii-san!” Jin shouted clearly losing whatever sanity he had.

Answer to this shout came to Ragna as naturally as breathing. It felt as if everything came into place.

“I will kill you, bastard!!”

That’s right, that’s how it was supposed to be.

They were supposed to be killing each other.

Why didn’t he notice earlier.

Any hesitation left Ragna, as he aimed to kill. Kill the person before him. Kill his brother.

Jin also seemed to have lost his inhibitions, as he moved with practiced motions while laughing maniacally.

They clashed and clashed.

They felt tired, but couldn’t stop.

They could only continue like that until one of them died. At least one of them.

No, even longer than that.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to have changed, but neither of the brothers noticed that. 

With the air of finality they charged once again at each other determined to kill. 

“JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!”

“NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-SAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!” 

“”DIE!!!!!!!!!!””

Their weapons started to glow slightly, as they swung them to deliver final blow. And at this moment a blinding light filled the room, interrupting the fight.

The last thing they saw was a deep azure which filled their minds.

*

Jin woke up first. He felt extremely disorientated and it took him a moment to remember what happened. Fight. Final blow. Light. Azure. Darkness.

He tried to move. His body felt extremely sluggish. Almost foreign. Did he sustain some serious injury? It didn’t seem to be the case. Still, he felt extremely fatigued.

“Nii-san?” He asked, but there was no reply. It seemed he hadn’t left the room. Did Ragna leave him here unconscious? Or was he also out cold after that strange light appeared?

Jin managed to lift himself into sitting position. As he did he noticed the Blood-Scythe lying next to him. He looked at it and blinked.

“Eh?”

*

Ragna felt extremely tired. His whole body felt numb and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. He felt something important had happened, but his mind just couldn’t recall what.

“Nii-san!”

A voice called him and someone shook his arms. There was something weird about the voice. Ragna could tell by the tone that it was undoubtedly Jin, he heard him so many times, he would recognize this call no matter what. However, the voice didn’t sound like the one belonging to his brother. It was way too deep and while it sounded a bit familiar Ragna couldn’t recall where he could have heard it.

“Nii-san!”

“Shut up,” he managed to whisper. The shaking stopped and Ragna took deep breath as he tried to collect himself. He felt so tired.

“Nii-san, is that you?” The voice asked carefully.

This was a very strange question. 

“Yeah. Who else could it be?” Ragna answered as he finally opened his eyes.

Only to look at himself. He blinked. Ragna Bloodedge was still sitting next to him and looking at him with worry.

That was bizarre.

“What the hell?” He said and rose to sitting position out of shock.

“Um, it will be better if you see for yourself,” the other Ragna answered as he lifted the Blood-Scythe so that Ragna could see his reflection in it. It was of course a bit distorted and the light in the room was poor, so it wasn’t easy to see, but even then he could tell. The reflection didn’t belong to Ragna, but to Jin. He looked at his hands, only to confirm that they weren’t his. The body wasn’t his.

“What the hell?” Ragna who currently occupied Jin’s body repeated.

“It seems that due to some unknown factor we had swapped…”

“WHAT THE HELL??!!!!” The shout echoed through the room.

In such a way, the lives of two brothers and those surrounding them got distorted even further, as the future nobody has ever envisioned took shape. And the days filled with havoc would continue onto a new stage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes part one - Entwining Hearts! Next chapter contains a short yet important interlude after which the new story arc - Calamity Switch will begin!


	11. Interlude - The Girls are Dreaming ~Girls' Talk~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am with the new update. The bad news is I'm still stuck on the same chapter as I was a month ago, so the next update might get delayed, because I will be busy during the upcoming month. So don't panic, I will continue to work on this story it just might take more time. Especially, since my friends decided that I should totally join them in playing Guild Wars 2. So, yeah, I will probably have less time for writing.
> 
> Meanwhile, please enjoy the return to our lovely heroine who is yet unaware of how horrible her timing is when it comes to having a deep self-realization.

The room was dark and quiet except for the muffled noises coming from atop the bed. Makoto laid on it with her head under pillow. She wanted to rip something to shreds, but at the same time she felt completely powerless and in the end she just continued to occupy her bed. She was wearing only a pair of boxers and an undershirt used as a night-dress. Her blanket covered her partially and she made a frustrated noises combined with a quiet sobbing.

Suddenly she heard the door opening and closing.

“Makoto?” A worried voice resounded.

The squirrel girl muttered something in response.

“Makoto, are you okay?”

“Nooo…” A moan escaped from under the pillow.

Noel climbed the bunk bed they both used. They were a roommates ever since middle school and were very close due to that, so Noel didn’t feel discouraged by Makoto’s behaviour. They have both seen each other at the moments of weakness many times.

Noel sat next to Makoto, while letting her legs dangle from the bed. She covered Makoto with the blanket and then started to speak slowly.

“Did you have a nightmare? You were sleeping when I left the room.” The only answer was a sob. “Don’t worry. It was just a dream. You shouldn’t worry about them too much, Makoto.”

There was a moment of silence, when Noel gently rubbed her friends back to help her relax. Finally, the brunette got calm enough to say something.

“It wasn’t a nightmare…” Her voice still quivered slightly, but there was strength to it. “That’s the fucking problem. I’m... I’m such a…”

“Makoto!” Noel said with power. Her friend stiffened, but then calmed down again. “Let’s go slowly. Tell me what exactly happened.”

“I-I can’t,” Makoto said distraught.

Noel sighed. It seemed it was something serious if Makoto tried to keep it to herself. They have known each other for four years now and the squirrel girl had no reservation in sharing her problems at this point, since Noel had already known almost all of them.

“Makoto,” she repeated gently. “I understand it may be something that is difficult to talk about, but if you don’t share it with anyone it will just continue to burden you until you can’t go on. So please, let me help you. I promise I will still support you, no matter what it is. I might be even able to help, just tell me what it is.”

The brunette made another sob, but finally moved the pillow to reveal her face. It was obvious she was crying for some time and there were still remnants of tears in her eyes. Noel mechanically picked up a box of tissues that was lying next to Makoto and offered its contents. The squirrel took some and wiped her face and nose with them. During that time Noel noticed that there was surprisingly little dirtied tissues lying around. Was she crying for such a short while? No, it didn’t look like that. She must have moved from the bed and tossed them out while she was crying, which was strange. Makoto would usually ignore any mess she had created until she stopped crying.

Unless it was somehow related…

“You can’t help me…” Makoto interrupted Noel’s thoughts as she had finally spoken. “It’s… I’m beyond help,” she explained as she cast her eyes downwards. “I tried, I really tried, but it’s just…” Makoto started to mumble again, so Noel just hugged her. Makoto awkwardly returned the hug.

“Noel, I-I’m so sorry…”

“You haven’t done anything bad,” Noel answered without thinking, because she was pretty sure her friend didn’t.

“But Noel I… I am the worst,” Makoto continued, but this time the blond didn’t interrupt her waiting for Makoto to finish. “I-I am in love with Jin!” Makoto finally spit it out.

Noel froze upon hearing that.

“Eh?” she managed, but was otherwise at loss for words. However, it was not a problem because Makoto after admitting her feelings started to vomit words she withheld until now.

“It’s been going for a long time actually. And I tried not to fall for him. I really tried. I mean he is a no good! A sociopath! Has a brother complex like from here to England! He is an utter jerk towards you! And most of all, Tsubaki is in love with him! And I feel horrible whenever I think of that. I mean, falling in love with the same guy as she is in love with. What is wrong with me? Why?! And I tried not to think about it, but I can’t lie to myself any longer. I pretended not to notice the obvious signs, but when you were out I had a dream. And goddamn I dreamed I had a sex with him. And it was great! When I woke up I was so aroused I just…” Makoto paused for a moment and Noel quickly connected the dots. She knew Makoto well enough to fill that blank. Seeing the understanding on her face, Makoto continued. “I mean I haven’t been so aroused by anything in months! And I thought about him all the time and almost screamed his name and I just… I can’t lie to myself I want to be with him. I want to date that jerk, despite everything. I want to slap him in the face and scream at him to stop being such a jerk. I want to go out shopping with him. I want to laugh with him. I want him to help me with a school work. I want to kiss him. I want to have sex with him. I want to punch him and then kiss him. I… never felt like that about anyone to such extent.”

Makoto finally went silent after the last one. Noel looked at her, not sure what to say.

“That really is a problem,” she admitted slowly.

“No shit,” Makoto lowered her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even notice you felt like that about him,” Noel added apologetically.

“Well, I did my best to supress it. You shouldn’t blame yourself. I don’t think Tsubaki or Jin noticed either. Though Ragna probably figured it out.”

“Ragna, did?” Noel asked surprised.

“Well, sort of accidentally. He misunderstood my intentions and I was so surprised I slipped a bit,” Makoto explained.

“Well, it isn’t surprising that Jin didn’t notice you had feelings for him. I don’t think he is aware that Tsubaki likes him romantically, either,” the blond admitted.

“So you also think that way…” the squirrel girl sighed. “Actually one of the reasons why I couldn’t help those feelings is that their relationship didn’t move at all. Like, how long is Tsubaki going to wait with her confession?!” She added with more anger. “She said to me she would probably confess to him after she returned from this student exchange, but it’s been more than a year and she is still stuck.”

Makoto hid her head in her hands. Noel gave her another hug.

“It’s fine, Makoto. I agree, it may cause us difficulties, but your feelings are true. They are as valid as Tsubaki’s feelings. So you should stop supressing them.”

“And what?” the squirrel girl asked.

“Talk with Tsubaki. She will be probably furious, but in the end it will be up to Jin to decide who he wants to date,” Noel pointed out.

“You think she will be very angry at me?” the squirrel girl asked.

“Yes, I’m afraid Tsubaki can be… very possessive,” the blond answered after pause.

“Damn, I’m screwed, if even you think it will be a hell.”

“Well, for now you should probably wait a week or two before approaching Tsubaki, because at this point Jin might be a bit too absorbed in his reunion with Ragna to give you both a proper answer,” Noel added.

“That’s true…” Makoto nodded. “Well, a week or two probably won’t change much. I already feel better now that I've told you.”

Noel smiled a bit wider.

“Don’t worry about it. I promise not to tell anyone about it, especially Tsubaki. So take your time to prepare yourself and don’t think too badly about yourself.”

Makoto nodded. “Yeah I will.”

After that she finally got up.

“I think I will go wash my face… oh, scratch that. I will just take the shower. I’m still a bit sweaty.”

Noel moved onto the lower part of the bed, while Makoto took a towel and a shower gel.

“Thank you again, Noel. I know I’ve said that in the past, but you really are a great friend.”

The blond only smiled a bit tiredly in response. After her friend left the room, she fell onto the bed. As she looked at the glow-in-the-dark stars she stuck to the underside of Makoto’s part of the bed, Noel embraced her body pillow.

“Really… I’m so sorry I didn’t notice until now, Makoto,” she repeated to herself. “I’m truly sorry. It must have been so lonely...”

After that she went silent and lay on her bed without moving, looking at the fluorescent stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: To Ragna's relief everything turns out to be only a bad dream! 
> 
> ......hahahahahaha. No.


	12. Calamity Switch - New Order on the Stage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, ain't you a happy bunch? The update is on time! Thank the resit I had to take for that because apparently nothing makes me write this series like a perspective of upcoming exam I should be studying for. Which is actually very true considering that this fic was conceived during my winter exam session (the act of writing not idea, the idea was with me since autumn). I still have a backlog, because I'm only two chapters ahead right now (I usually had 4-5 written, never less than three before). That's why just like before I can't promise the next update will be on time. I just need a bit space in case I forget to put some important foreshadowing. Which already happened once and you have no idea how thankful I was for not posting those chapters too quickly. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy a chapter full of a distraught body-swap victim and his meeting with his new family (which he really, really hopes is temporary)!

Ragna woke up suddenly. He was lying in his bed. Without a doubt he was in his own room. 

The fight with Jin, was it only a dream?

Ragna slowly raised his hand. It was rather lean and the skin was paler than he remembered. Also the nails looked as if they have received some cosmetic treatment recently. It just wasn’t his hand, no matter how much he looked at it.

Damn it.

He slowly got out of the bed. Moving in someone else’s body felt strange. Even if they were brothers their height and body structure was different, so right now even simple task felt challenging. Ragna did some simple exercises as he tried to get used to coordinating this new body. After making sure that he could more or less move around he attempted to dress himself. It was awkward to be honest. Even if they were brothers they have lived apart for ten years and it was first time since then Ragna had a chance to see Jin, right now himself, so… clothless. He knew he was so conscious about it only because he was inside someone’s body. 

It felt like trespassing, really.

Ragna dressed himself as quickly as possible, making sure to not look at the mirror and as little as possible at himself. His mood got worse, when he realized that his own shirt and trousers were too big for him. He ignored this fact as much as he could and left his room to get some breakfast.

Damn, how is he even going to explain everything to Jubei? And what happened yesterday? Ragna remembered that together with Jin they have somehow managed to leave facility and call Jubei, but he had no memories after that.

Luckily, kitchen was empty, so Ragna could make something for himself. In fridge he found a leftover vegetable salad which suggested that Jin had already woken up, since Jubei wasn’t really a fan of vegetarian dishes.

Ragna ignored the salad and made a ham sandwich for himself. He took a bite and…

“Damn it,” the boy muttered as he swallowed.

It didn’t taste as good as he remembered. Ragna belatedly recalled that Jin wasn’t a huge fan of meat. Suddenly, the prospect of leftover salad in the fridge became tempting. Mechanically, he took another bite, but he was becoming more aware of the fact that the sandwich would be definitely improved by the addition of a lettuce.

In the end, he ate sandwich together with the leftover salad. He quickly washed the dishes and went to search for Jubei and Jin. He went to the dojo, since that was the place where Jubei spend most of the time.

They weren’t in dojo, but he found both of them in garden next to it, where Jin was training under Jubei’s instruction. Ragna once again felt perplexed at seeing himself. Nothing has ever caused him to feel so disconnected as watching his own body move independently from him.

“Oh, you finally woke up Ragna,” Jubei called noticing him.

Jin stopped swinging wooden sword and turned towards him.

“Nii-san!” He said happily and the older brother could swear that there was nothing stranger than your own body calling you like that.

“Hey,” he replied without thinking. “Um, so did Jin…”

“Yes, he explained what happened,” Jubei interrupted him. “And I must say I’m disappointed in you.”

“I’m sorry,” Ragna apologized, casting his eyes downwards. He really felt guilty. He knew that going to fight Jin was stupid and went against common sense.

…he just didn’t expect it to backfire in such a fashion…

Jubei answered as if he had read his thought.

“And I even told ya, Ragna, nothing good ever comes from fighting with ya brother. I didn’t expect ya would swap bodies but that only goes to show just how bad decision it was.”

“Um, do you have any idea why it happened?” Ragna asked hopefully.

“None at all.”

The older brother threw a long string of curses. Meanwhile Jin watched the scene stoically.

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Ragna turned towards his brother. It just felt unfair that he was the only one having a breakdown over the current situation.

“Of course it bothers me, Nii-san,” Jin answered calmly.

“It does?” Ragna rose his brew.

“It does. I honestly feel I have no right to occupy the great body of…”

“No, stop! Forget I asked!” the older brother freaked out as Jin started to descend into his insane state.

The whole situation felt crazy.

“Don’t worry Ragna, I have no idea about why this happened to ya, but I asked someone who might for help. If they get some leads I will tell ya,” Jubei interrupted their exchange.

“And until then what?”

“Until then we must pretend to be each other,” Jin answered.

Ragna turned towards him. “You kidding.”

“It might sound challenging, but it shouldn’t be as difficult as you imagine,” Jin continued. “As long as you act nicely nobody will probably notice.”

“Um, Jin, you don’t act nicely,” Ragna pointed out.

“I do,” the younger brother blinked with an innocent expression on his face.

“I’m pretty sure you are asshole towards Noel.”

“Then you don’t have to act nicely towards her,” Jin shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn’t see what was the point of raising this topic.

“You bastard!”

“Ragna,” Jubei said in a level tone of voice, but there was a strong hint of warning, which quickly pacified older brother.

“Are you two serious? You really believe we can keep this secret?” Ragna asked distraught.

“If Duodecime catches a wind of it ya two will have a lot of trouble,” the beastkin explained sighing.

“Jubei is right. They will probably use us as guinea pigs when they find out,” Jin added.

“Oy, you serious? Aren’t you next heir of Kisaragi family?” Ragna questioned in disbelief.

“There isn’t much family love in Kisaragi household. If they decided that they will have more benefits if I am to be experimented on than as a heir they won’t think twice about what to do,” Jin explained in a tired voice.

Ragna looked bothered by this sudden confession.

“So if they figure out I’m not you…”

“You both are screwed,” Jubei summed up cheerfully.

“Don’t worry, as long as you don’t cause trouble Kisaragi family probably won’t even notice change,” Jin added. “They only talk to me when it’s about family business. Just pretend you are feeling unwell then. Mental illness will probably work the best. I think they have been suspecting I have one, anyway. Just make sure not to take any pills if they prescribe you some.”

Ragna stood there trying to stomach this influx of information.

“What kind of place are you living in?” Ragna asked having a very bad feeling.

Jin sighed and looked at his feet.

“I always found it annoying and from your point of view… it will probably be something close to hell.”

*

In the afternoon the car came to take him to the Kisaragi household. Until then both Jin and Ragna tried to master their respective fighting styles.

“Well, ya both are types that learn better through training, so nothing will probably help you understand each other as mastering each other’s fighting style. Not to mention it would be suspicious if ya didn’t know it.” 

Jin also filled Ragna with some crucial information on his routine. 

Of course, it wasn’t enough.

Ragna was cursing internally, as the doors of the car closed. He was being taken away to the home of his younger brother and was beginning to realize how little he knew.

Damn you, Rabbit, for being right.

Luckily, the driver didn’t talk to him, so Ragna could agonize in silence over his new life.

It was happening too fast.

It was just yesterday that he was going to fight in a very stupid fight and right now his life was completely upside down and he had to pretend to be his brother. Worse, he was forced to live in his brother’s body. It sounded just like the story out of the work of fiction that was supposed to teach one not to be jealous of lives of other people.

Except Ragna wasn’t jealous. 

Not at all.

Not one bit.

Maybe except for the whole having friends business.

And being fucking liked.

Oh, okay, so maybe he was a bit jealous. But he never wished to have his brother’s life. Heck, he thought that for most part his brother’s life sounded awfully dull.

Also TV shows fucking lied, because they completely skipped all kinds of stuff. Like just how stressing it was to impersonate someone. How alienating it was. Usually people in TV shows would act as if it was their own body, but Ragna could feel it wasn’t. His control of the body was off, his senses worked differently, he had completely different reflexes and habits. Every time he tried to do something he was reminded that this body wasn’t his.

It felt absolutely horrible.

And it felt tiring. Somehow the whole body-swapping business made him feel completely drained both physically and emotionally. He hoped he will be able to get to sleep quickly once he reaches the Kisaragi household.

Ragna looked through the window as the car approached the mansion. The building was huge and domineering, matching the oppressive feeling that the reputation of Kisaragi family carried. Ragna’s attention was drawn by the huge wall surrounding the house. It said “keep out” better than any sign would ever do. The family kept to itself and was ready to slaughter any outsider who dared to approach carelessly.

No wonder Jin was supposed to be the next heir. He fit the image perfectly.

The car stopped and Ragna got out, taking Jin’s katana with him. He followed the butler, or whoever the man who greeted him was, into the building. The interior was screaming of wealth, there was a pervasive atmosphere of old family and old money. Somehow it didn’t fit Jin at all. For a second, Ragna allowed himself to remember their childhood and his younger sibling in his used clothes. He would often get the clothes his older brother grew from, but he never complained about it. Because of that many of the clothes Jin wore were slightly too big. Even then he would smile, his shirt flapping.

Does he even smile like that anymore?

“Is something the matter?” the man leading him asked.

Ragna panicked. It seemed his stray thoughts made him act suspicious.

“No,” he answered shortly in level voice. He should stop daydreaming and instead concentrate on his impersonation. As they moved on Ragna made sure to move in the same way Jin walked. It felt like some poor form of acting.

“Before you return to your room, your father wants to see you,” the man said as they reached big ebony doors. They had a complex floral pattern carved onto them.

Ragna only nodded. The man knocked and then opened door saying:

“Young master, has arrived.”

Did they suddenly go back to edo period? Feudalism was supposed to have ended!

Ragna entered the office trying to look confident. Good thing he was good at feigning at least that.

In the huge study filled with many books, which looked as if they were put on the shelves for decoration rather than for reading, there was a desk behind which a man in his fifties had been sitting. He had a sharp face and despite his age his short black hair showed no sign of receding. He was wearing an expensive tuxedo. Not that the youth could tell, but he was sure that the head of Kisaragi clan was the type to wear only the best clothing. The man also possessed a pair of piercing blue eyes, which right now were scrutinizing Ragna.

“Welcome home, Jin,” the man said. 

“I’m back, father,” the youth replied, bowing respectfully. If he remembered correctly, Jin’s surrogate father was named Hayato. Jin had explained how to go about interacting with him, but it was still an unnerving experience.

“I heard you went to fight with that boy again,” the man said slowly.

“Yes,” Ragna said exhaling slowly. He was warned that Kisaragi’s family head might make him go through this conversation. He knew he had to be patient.

“I think we talked about that,” Hayato continued.

“Yes, father.”

The man sighed.

“And I told you numerous times to remember he is not a part of your family. Are you a part of Kisaragi family?” He asked narrowing his brows.

“Yes!” Ragna said, standing more upright. He tried to look as if he had swallowed a broom as much as possible.

And not show any emotions. That was especially important.

“Then I want you to bear in mind that as a next successor you should be more careful. I was lenient until now, but this time it seems you have actually collapsed. If you end up endangered again, I will have to take precautions. Do you understand?”

“Yes, father. I apologize for causing trouble,” Ragna said formally, once again bowing slightly.

There was a moment of silence as Hayato scrutinized his figure.

“Make sure to visit doctor. You can leave,” he said finally.

“Goodnight, father,” Ragna nodded and left the room. After the door closed behind him, he stifled the urge to sigh loudly. Pretending to be Jin before this jerk sucked. Ragna hoped he won’t have to interact with him again in the nearest future. The man who lead him earlier, was waiting for him and now escorted him to the private doctor that Kisaragi family employed. The youth just sat impassively as he was being examined. The doctor didn’t find anything off, aside from the fact that his patient seemed tired. In the end, Ragna was sent to “his” room with some band aids to put on the cut on his cheek.

“Are you going to attend supper, young master?” the butler asked, when they reached the room.

“No, I want to get some sleep,” Ragna answered.

“Shall I send you something to eat to the room right now.”

The youth wondered.

“Yes, please.”

The butler bowed and left. Ragna entered Jin’s room. It was a surprisingly normal room. It contrasted with splendour of the rest of house. The walls were painted white and while furniture was also high class, it was in no way lavish. There was a desk with a computer on it. Ragna wasn’t good with technology, but with the minimal knowledge that he possessed as a regular gamer he could tell that it was a rather new model. He could also see a laptop, placed in a small space under the desk. There was a window opposite the door, but it was surprisingly small and there was a metal net placed outside. Was it due to security issues? He didn’t remember seeing metal net on other windows, while he was looking at the building from the outside. There was something weird about this…

Ragna shook his head and continued to look around the room. Most of the walls were unobscured. There was only one drawing, which was pinned to wall above the bed, that depicted a snowy landscape in the middle of which stood a lonely figure. The painting easily caused a feeling of desolation just by looking at it, but it also brought an inner peace. There was a door leading to bathroom on the left side from the entrance.

Everything was neatly lying in its place. Even the clothes that weren’t hidden in the wardrobe were folded perfectly. It was a very Kisaragi-like perfection, but there was something deeper underneath it. 

There was a personality, Jin’s personality.

Not Kisaragi, but a Jin feeling.

It felt like a safe zone.

Ragna put the katana next to the wardrobe and after that collapsed on the bed. He grabbed the pillow and then screamed into it. After that he just laid unmoving. 

This place was absolutely horrible. The atmosphere was suffocating and the whole Kisaragi family looked down on people in a way that really rubbed Ragna the wrong way.

He will have to endure. Just until they have found some way to reverse it, they will both have to do their best not to get caught.

The sound of knocking interrupted his thoughts. Ragna rose and opened the door, behind which stood a butler with a tray. On it there was a plate with a number of spring rolls and small containers with three sauces. The butler smiled as he gave him the tray. Ragna took it and then forced himself to return the smile.

He really wanted to return to his previous life!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Reality continues to be depressing for both brothers. Makoto might not know what exactly happened, but she is determined to find out and then punch Ragna, because he is definitely the one at fault!


	13. Teenage Worries - Concern and Loneliness of Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The work on this is still going slowly, but surely. I got stuck a bit, because I reached the part where our new characters appear, so I will finally have to skim through Remix Heart again... and I really don't feel like it. Also, this arc is growing to be even more of a monster than the previous one. I already have 14k of words and I haven't gone past third day since they swapped... I wonder if I should introduce some plotlines more quickly. I wanted to introduce as much everyday situation as I could, so that brothers would suffer through them, but it seems I should pick up my pace.
> 
> Also it might be a bit confusing, because the narration will jump between the characters who know about the change and those who don't. So keep in mind that Makoto doesn't know about it. Just make sure to check whose POV is followed in each scene.
> 
> It's kinda cute how Makoto naively assumes that the situation won't get worse... she should know by now that with those brothers things can only escalate.

Makoto jogged through the park. It was an early Monday morning. There was still more than hour before the classes would start. The squirrel girl had her trusty blue tracksuit on her, the present from Noel.

As she run, she thought about the conversation she had with Noel this weekend. Makoto’s mood really improved after she admitted her feelings before her. She still felt like a trash for crushing on the same guy as her other best friend, but at least she was more confident as to where she had placed her affections. In a way, it was better than her previous in-between state where she couldn’t even be sincere with herself about her feelings, while still suffering from guilt.

She forced herself to smile. Sure, the situation was still ugly, but at least she was taking first steps to resolve it. Even if Tsubaki was going to snap upon learning the truth, there was still some time before it would happen. Makoto decided she will cross this bridge when she reaches it. Right now, she should just enjoy her everyday life. Carpe diem and all that jazz.

She started to hum the leitmotif of one of the TV shows she watched with Noel, as she sprinted, trying to inspirit herself even more.

*

At the same time Ragna and Jin were sitting in the Student Council room. Jin was going through documents while his older brother described how his new life of impersonation has been developing.

“I think they didn’t catch up, but it really is a risky game. It’s like they are constantly watching me,” Ragna complained.

“They are,” Jin confirmed. “Make sure you don’t let your guard down. I’m fairly sure there aren’t any hidden cameras in my room. They finally gave up on them three years ago, because they realized that since I’m able to find them all it’s a waste of money anyway. But I can’t promise they won’t try it again. They can be very persistent.”

“Your family is crazy, has anyone told you that?” Ragna muttered dejected.

“I think Makoto also thinks they are a bunch of jerks,” Jin said. The older brother shoot an angry look towards Jin, who was going through a stack of document. It was weird seeing his own body doing paperwork diligently.

“You make it sound as though I’m supposed to bond with her over our shared hatred towards old families with money.”

“I expected you would,” Jin admitted. He was still concentrating on the paperwork.

Ragna scoffed.

“Are you real?”

“Well, I thought you would get along more. You are pretty similar. But since you are also both strong-headed and stubborn I can understand why you ended up quarrelling.”

“Oy, are you trying to pick up a fight?” the youth asked annoyed.

“Eh? No, I’m merely stating how things are. I don’t think there is anything bad about it. I never disliked those qualities in you,” Jin stopped writing surprised by the misunderstanding. “If I did, I would have said it a long time ago or avoided any interactions altogether with either of you.”

Ragna paused, while Jin return to the stack of papers before him.

“Squirrel and I, I think we didn’t get along because we disagreed about you and your redhead friend…” the older boy finally admitted.

“Me?” Jin asked and there was a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“I claimed that you are heartless jerk, while she argued that you do have some positive traits. But I think she agrees on the jerk part.”

“Ah, that wouldn’t be surprising. She did confront me about the way I treat Noel. And I think she can’t help hating my background,” Jin admitted.

“She confronted you? And what do you mean about the background?” now it was Ragna’s turn to feel curious.

“Yes, shortly after this semester began. We ended up arguing about it and after that she didn’t talk to me for a week.”

Ragna couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What’s with this romantic story development?

“I ended up apologizing and promised to try to be nicer. So ever since then I avoid talking to Noel.”

“Aren’t you just running away from the problem?” the older brother spat.

Jin sent him an unamused gaze. 

_Ah, so this is how I look like when I frown_ , Ragna thought.

“It’s not a problem I can solve. What would you do if someone asked you to stop hating me?” the younger sibling pointed out. “I value my relationship with Makoto and Tsubaki, so I did my best to please them.”

Ragna remembered his quarrel with Tsubaki. So that’s how it was. Since he had no ties to the girls, he just dismissed their opinions, but for Jin the situation was different. Despite his hatred, he did his best to put up with Noel to please them.

 _Would I be able to do that?_ Ragna questioned himself. If he sacrificed his hatred towards Jin, would he be able to gain friends just as his younger brother did? Was that the quality that truly set them apart? The fact that Jin was able to deny part of himself to adjust to other people.

But then…

Just how much one is supposed to sacrifice?

What is the border between changing oneself for others and denying yourself? After all, it’s scary. Ragna had a taste of this fear yesterday. Being someone else was horrible. He wanted to return to being himself. Having to pretend to not feel something, to put up with other people he hated. It was absolutely disgusting. He was happier being true to himself. Not having friends, being alienated, being hated. He was used to those things. It was lonely, but he was also safe. However, the danger of being crushed by other people’s expectation… It was a new fear.

“You know, Makoto used to have no friends,” Jin suddenly spoke. “Until she met Tsubaki and Noel she was alienated and bullied due to the fact that she was a beastkin. She wouldn’t trust anyone and would protect herself by insulting others. Basically, she closed off her heart, so that she wouldn’t get hurt.”

Ragna listened to this explanation in silence, mostly because it sounded uncomfortably familiar.

“However, Noel and Tsubaki managed to befriend her and ever since then she became a happier person. She still has a sharp tongue, but now she uses it to protect her friends, rather than herself,” Jin continued and the older brother realized there was a bit of admiration in his voice. “That’s why Makoto treasures her friends so much and if you insulted Tsubaki I’m not surprised she would lash at you.”

“I think she was mad at me for insulting you, rather than her,” Ragna said. “I only confronted your redhead ‘little sister’ about a week ago.”

“Cousin,” Jin corrected him automatically. “Is that so? I didn’t think she liked me all that much. She comes from very poor family. Due to discrimination it is much more difficult for beastkin to receive a well paid jobs, so it was always hard for Makoto to make ends meet. That is why she hates wealthy families whose success is built on exploitation and underhanded tactics. And our business is not really a good example of equality and ethical approach towards the workers. From her point of view Kisaragi family is probably despicable.”

Ragna raised his brows.

“If she hates your family so much, why does she like you?” Ragna asked. Jin didn’t know it, but Makoto was very much in love with him. Just what made her feel like that towards the young heir of the noble family which she despised.

“I guess we have similar approach to certain things. Or something?” Jin said in a tone, which indicated he wasn’t sure himself. “I just enjoy her presence. I think I simply like straightforward people like her. Well, there isn’t really formula explaining why people find each other likeable,” he pointed out. “And Makoto knows I also don’t like the way Kisaragi family handles things, so maybe this is the reason why she tolerates me? Anyway, now that you understand her motivation, I hope you will find her more bearable,” Jin summed up as he returned to working on the documents.

The older brother fell silent as he thought about what he has heard just now. It was sort of strange that Jin decided to tell him this story, especially the way he punctuated all the points of similarity between them, it was as if…

“Wait, are you trying to make me feel more sympathetic towards Squirrel?” Ragna asked, realizing where the conversation had been going.

“Of course I do. I value her company, so I would be disappointed if you accidentally made her hate me. Or Tsubaki. However, Tsubaki is much more forgiving, so I’m more worried about Makoto. She can be really sharp, so I decided to help you understand her more. That’s why I hope you will remember what I told you and make sure not to disappoint her.”

“No, no. Wait a second. Why am I the only one who has to be mindful of other people?” Ragna complained.

Jin just shrugged, obviously not having any answers to that question.

Oh, right. It’s my own fault I do not have any friends.

As Ragna cursed his lack of friends, his younger brother continued to fight with the paperwork.

*

“Ah, I’m beat,” Makoto sighed as she entered the Student Council room. She has survived a deadly combo of Math and Physics classes, the lunch break that has just began was a much needed breather. Noel and Tsubaki were going to come a bit late, because Noel forgot to take her lunch and had to go buy herself something. Tsubaki decided to accompany her, while Makoto excused herself, saying she is a bit tired. During the morning jogging she might have run slightly too fast, as she was trying to forget her problems.

As the door opened she saw a familiar figure sitting next to table. Jin was eating his bento with a somehow downcast expression.

“Ohayo!” She said cheerfully, reflexively trying to set a good mood. The blond quickly raised his eyes with a slight panic.

“Ah-a, good morning,” he answered, but somehow his voice lacked certainty.

Makoto blinked. Only now she noticed that there was a band aid on his face.

“Did something happen?” she said gesturing to her own cheek.

Jin looked slightly confused for a second as he raised his arm, but the realization dawned on him.

“I got into a fight,” he explained, casting his eyes down onto his food.

The squirrel girl realized that something serious must have happened, since she hadn’t seen Jin so blatantly depressed for a long time.

“With Ragna? What happened?” She asked feeling a bit of panic. She tried to remember if she had seen the white haired boy today.

“Ah, no, nothing really happened. We just fought a bit too hard and collapsed,” Jin said and tried to smile thinly, but his expression was closer to a grimace.

“Are you sure you are alright?” Makoto quickly closed the distance to look closer at the blond. Seeing that he involuntarily moved backwards. She stopped. “You aren’t ill, are you? Maybe you should go to the infirmary?”

“I’m fine,” the boy returned to his bento, but rather than eating them he seemed to be trying to annihilate his vegetables as he stabbed his fork into them. Finally, he stood up and started collecting his unfinished meal, “I think I will go for a walk.”

“Are you sure?” Makoto asked. There was an obvious worry in her voice. Jin paused for a moment, but then answered trying to sound gentle.

“Ah, there’s nothing wrong with me… I just need some air. That’s all,” he uttered some assurance and left.

Makoto looked at the closed doors worriedly for half a minute. Then she stood up, quickly scribbled a note saying that she is going out and also left the room.

She was aware that not locking up the room was irresponsible, but she had her priorities and she wasn’t going to leave Jin alone when he looked like that.

She didn’t have to search too much for him. He was still at the same floor and she quickly spotted him among other students. The blond was looking through the window with a somehow melancholic expression, but after a minute continued his stroll. Makoto once again was struck with a feeling of oddness. Did Jin always walk like that? She felt it was somehow different. However, before she continued stalking… khem, making sure he is alright, she glanced through the window to check what he was looking at.

Unsurprisingly, she saw Ragna. The white haired transfer student was sitting under the tree and eating his lunch.

Makoto quickly reassessed her priorities. It was true that Jin didn’t look well, but as long as he stayed on school grounds someone would have noticed that he collapsed and then helped him. Jin was very popular, not to mention doing him a favour could translate into many future benefits. So maybe it was better to leave him alone for now and instead try to get some information from a somehow reliable source. 

Thinking this, she quickly went outside.

*

Jin, trapped inside his brothers body, looked at the empty lawn around him. He couldn’t remember last time when he had eaten alone ever since this semester began. During the lunch break he would almost always be accompanied by Tsubaki, Makoto and, unfortunately, Noel. Taro also often joined them, though recently he preferred to spend the lunch breaks with his girlfriend, away from them. Jin didn’t mind that thought, since it was a part of an unspoken agreement that there would be no making out in the student council room. Or rather Jin made it known that he would kill Taro if he ever caught him and only if he felt merciful enough, because otherwise he would make his life hell by stopping supplying him with class notes or helping him with his homework, forcing him to eat Noel’s meals and making him transfer to the Kisaragi family.

As a result, the lunch breaks in that room remained blissfully peaceful. 

Jin was aware that while he didn’t mind being alone now, he would probably miss his friends in the long run.

While he thought that he noticed a familiar figure moving towards him. 

Okay, so maybe his lunch today wouldn’t be as lonely as thought. Or peaceful, because the brunette girl which was walking decisively and had her sight fixed on him looked rather threateningly. Her tail shook furiously and her whole body language suggested she was ready to beat anyone who stood in her way. 

Jin was wondering if it wouldn’t be a good idea to avoid this confrontation, but running away was very out of character for Ragna. Jin remained unmoving, as Makoto stopped before him, stomping on the ground in a rather dramatic, but definitely impressive way.

“Yo, big guy, I heard you got in a fight,” the squirrel said scrutinizing him.

“Fight?” He repeated, trying to establish Ragna persona he has created.

“Yeah, fight. Jin’s walking with a band aid on his face and he admitted you duked it during weekend, so don’t feign innocence here. What the hell happened?” She asked with a threatening tone in her voice.

Jin raised him brows. That was somehow nostalgic. Makoto hadn’t spoken to him so impudently ever since he graduated from middle school. He didn’t feel offended about it, though. Rather, he was pleasantly surprised. Jin knew that Makoto was very protective of her friends, but he never truly counted himself as someone she would try to protect. Whenever he thought of Makoto as protector, it would be an image of her defending Noel or Tsubaki. The fact that right now she was trying to threaten Ragna of all people for his sake made him realize that he gave her too little credit. 

Then again, he couldn’t go easy on her. He had to keep their secret safe and he was determined to fool everyone to do so. Makoto and Tsubaki included.

“Eh, it’s as he said, we had a fight,” Jin had to be very conscious of his words, especially so that he wouldn’t call Ragna “Nii-san”. It would give him out instantly. 

“Don’t bullshit me here, mister Grim Reaper. There’s obviously something wrong with Jin and you have something to do with it, don’t you?” Makoto glared at him. Her arms were crossed and she looked down on him. It was obvious she was in no mood for joking. Jin was realizing that the situation was dangerous.

“Wait, what makes you think it’s my fault?” He asked in a slightly panicked voice, which he didn’t need to feign as much as he wanted to.

“Whose else fault do you think it could be? The only other person that could make him feel that miserable is Tsubaki and I doubt she was responsible. She obviously had no idea that something was off about Jin when we had classes together. That leaves only you. Spill the beans. What did you do?”

Jin, still sitting under the tree, realized he was becoming more and more cornered.

“Nothing,” he said trying to look straight at her, but Makoto’s hostile gaze was making his guilt resurface. Because, to be perfectly honest, they had no idea why the body swap happened and there was possibility that it _was_ his fault. At least if he wasn’t there, then there wouldn’t be anyone with whom Ragna could switch bodies.

No, Ragna wouldn’t be in that building in the first place, if it wasn’t for _him_.

So, didn’t that make him the one at fault?

He heard Makoto sigh loudly.

“Seriously, how do you expect me to believe you have no idea why Jin looks so depressed, when you are making exactly the same face?” She asked with less hostility. The boy looked at her, she was still imposing, but her gaze was more sympathetic now.

“If you really feel so bad about it, tell me what happened,” she demanded once again, but this time more softly. 

“I-I can’t,” Jin finally admitted.

She raised her brow in annoyance.

“Don’t want or can’t?”

“Can’t. I have promised not to mention what happened,” Jin admitted. It was a horrible way of solving his problem, because now Makoto was sure to pester Ragna about it. He needed to somehow repair his mistake. “It would be better if you don’t ask Jin about it though. The less people know the better.”

Makoto frowned.

“So he can tell his brother, but can’t tell his friends, huh?” The squirrel girl was now looking disappointed. As in, disappointed in Jin. The person in question found it hard to tolerate, since it wasn’t like he wanted it to be like that.

“Look, it’s not like I wanted to be dragged into this mess myself!” He said, deciding to simply shout selfish things. It was a very Ragna-like behaviour. “It was merely an accident and I honestly didn’t want to be involved, okay? Just give it some time. If everything goes fine everything will just… solve itself,” he finished in a silent voice, because he doubted the whole situation would miraculously repair itself. It wasn’t a TV show, where after an episode dedicated to character development everything would return to normal. Reality wouldn’t work in such a convenient way.

And in the first place, could he even believe in what he considered a reality? No matter how he looked at it, what happened to them proved there was some clearly supernatural power at work. If changing bodies was possible, then how many of the superstitions or strange stories he heard were actually real?

It was a chilling thought.

Makoto gave him a level look.

“I see. Well, if that’s the case I won’t ask you anymore. You might be a jerk, but you aren’t the type to break your word,” she decided. “Especially, when it comes to Jin.”

“Wha, what do you mean by that?” Jin was still playing the Ragna part, but this declaration surprised him as well.

“I mean that it wouldn’t hurt if you tried to be nice to him, since unlike me you have idea what is wrong with him. You may act as if you hate him, but I’ve lived with my brothers long enough to recognize siblings who care about each other when I see them. I don’t know what you are angry about and, well, I admit that Jin can be difficult and damn clueless sometimes, but I don’t think you two should be acting like that. Especially, since, as I understand it, you don’t have much family aside from each other,” she explained and added after a pause. “As an older brother you should at least look after him when he is in trouble~.”

She stuck out her tongue and winked as she said that and quickly escaped saying a short goodbye.

Jin closed his eyes for a moment feeling bewildered. 

Makoto was much more considerate than he thought. Moreover it seemed she was actually attempting to help reconcile him and Ragna. Was she looking after him that much? Since when? 

It felt strange. Jin looked at his hand. Well, not his. It was Ragna’s hand. He closed and opened it. He might have been in a different body, but somehow he wasn’t as isolated as he thought, because his friends…

 _They still care about me._

He closed his eyes. Even if he wasn’t with them right now he still felt a gentle warmth, when he thought about them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Great Squirrel Detective is on the case. For better or for worse.


	14. Curiosity and Secrets - The Great Squirrel Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead, but burried under responsibilities. This series is still on hiatus, because my writing pace is very slow. My muse for this fic is fickle. I wasn't even going to upload this chapter, but then I realized... TODAY IS ANNIVERSARY OF THIS FIC!!! Happy first birthday to my first fic! This just called for celebration, so as a result you get a new chapter!
> 
> The bad news is you also get a cliffhanger, which is the reason why I wasn't going to upload this chapter until I had more things to update. So now, that I actually went and posted it, please be patient, because next update won't be soon.

Makoto tried to systematize what she has learned so far. First of all, something _did_ happen during the weekend when Ragna and Jin meet to have their usual brotherly fight. Secondly, based on how both of them looked utterly miserable about, it seemed that both of them were involved in that incident. And what should be kept in mind, whatever happened was for some reason upsetting for both of them. Thirdly, it would be very bad if the knowledge of it spread, considering that even Ragna was keeping his loud mouth shut about it.

There was one easy answer to that, but Makoto knew that her perverted mind was probably misinterpreting things (and Ragna wasn’t freaked out enough for that to be true).

She sighed. She needed much more details to figure this out. But first thing first. She needed to find Jin and make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. When mood swing hit him he often acted very unpredictably.

She thought about checking the student council room, but decided not to. Tsubaki and Noel should be there, so if he returned there they would keep an eye on him.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to search too much for him, because, true to his word, he was also outside getting some fresh air. It didn’t seem to help him much, though. He was slowly going through the less crowded path, probably searching for some more secluded place. She kept an eye on him from a distance. Even from there she could tell there was a gloomy aura hanging over him, which made her think of a cartoonish black cloud that sometimes follows fictional characters. 

Makoto monitored him from behind the tree.

He seemed to be moving without a clear destination which struck Makoto as odd. Jin made impression of absolute purposefulness no matter what, but now he looked as though he was completely aimless. Whatever was plaguing him must have been pretty serious to make him like that.

The blond took a turn on the path and Makoto belatedly realized that he was going in Ragna’s direction. If he continued walking this way both brothers would meet. The squirrel girl instantaneously considered several scenarios of how to stop Jin, but quickly discarded all of them. What she needed right now were answers and a small brotherly spat might just help her get some of them. She quietly followed the blond boy. 

Just as she expected Jin exited the bush to come across his brother. He stopped surprised. At least that’s what Makoto thought, because she was now positioned slightly behind the blond and couldn’t see his face. She was currently in the process of circling around him in the bushes to get a better view. The squirrel girl was thankful she polished her sneaking skill when she was younger. None of the brothers seemed to have noticed her presence. Jin slowly moved towards Ragna. She expect the older brother to rise up, but he remained sitting.

That situation felt weird. Usually when they meet sparks would start flying quickly, but right now they both seemed too dejected to get into fight. Makoto realized they started to talk about something, but they kept their voices down. She moved slightly closer and then strained her ears.

“…I just couldn’t do it after talking with her,” she heard Jin speaking.

Ragna answered, but she couldn’t make out the words.

“I know, I know,” the blond answered somehow agitated, before his face returned to the listless expression he had before. He added something quietly, but once again Makoto couldn’t hear it.

“She also came to talk with me. I think she realized something is off,” Ragna explained.

Oh, so they were talking about her. The squirrel girl felt weird realizing that she was the subject of conversation she was eavesdropping on.

“Damn,” Jin said. “What a trouble.”

Makoto blinked. Did she hear what she just hear? That sounded awfully out of character for Jin. Not only the phrase, but the tone. It just didn’t fit the blond, but it was familiar. That speaking pattern was…

“I can’t stand this whole situation,” Jin complained more loudly.

“We have to bear with it,” Ragna answered non-committedly.

“You have it easier! I’m the one who has to deal with all the problems!”

…it was Ragna’s. For some reason Jin was speaking like Ragna. No. Not only that. He hid this in conversation with her, but right now Ragna was using some phrases that came naturally to Jin. Makoto shook her head in confusion.

What the hell was going on here? She scrutinized the scene once more. Was she having some sort of hallucinations? Auditory hallucinations?

Due to her surprise she missed part of conversation.

“…worry. We have rehearsed this. It definitely won’t go perfectly, but you just have to be convincing enough,” Ragna said.

“I doubt I’m fooling anyone…”

“Makoto haven’t figured it out yet and I did my best to buy us more time. Don’t give up like that, n…”

Unfortunately at this moment a gust of wind hit the bushes creating a rustling noise that drowned out the sound, but just before that… 

Did Ragna refer to Jin as “Nii-san”? Makoto wasn’t sure because the noise obscured the rest of sentence, but somehow she was certain that was it. Her intuition was telling her this was the case.  
The brunette recalled how she stalked Jin before coming here. Back then she felt something was off about the way he acted, but couldn’t figure out what exactly. Now, however, she examined the scene once more and that made her realize.

His way of moving was slightly off. It wasn’t a big deviation, but Makoto was sensitive when it came to details, especially the details concerning Jin, so she noticed it.

A very ridiculous hypothesis was starting to form in her brain.

It was an idiotic conjecture, which nobody should ever consider seriously.

Makoto sighed.

 _Please, let it be just a stupid idea_ , she prayed in her mind.

Meanwhile, the pair of brothers decided that it was time to go their separate ways. Jin moved towards the school, while Ragna remained under the tree. Makoto decided it was a good time to withdraw. She carefully crawled away. There wasn’t much time left of the lunch break, but Makoto decided to stop by the student council room anyway.

As she entered it, she was greeted by Noel and Tsubaki.

“Makoto, what’s going on?” the redhead girl asked. “Both you and Jin were gone when we came here!”

The squirrel girl realized the task of minimalizing the damage was left to her. It was better to ease her friends worries, at least until she figured out what has happened.

Because if her hypothesis was true, the whole situation has just gotten a whole lot more complicated and making Noel and Tsubaki worried could end badly for all parties involved.

“So when I came here I found Jin sulking and I talked to him. He and his brother got into scuffle during the weekend and seem to be a bit under weather because of that, so Jin said he would go out because he needed some fresh air and I followed him, because I got sort of worried, but I needn’t have to! He seems healthy enough, just a bit listless I think it will be the best if we don’t ask too much questions,” Makoto jabbered. She didn’t realize herself how panicked she was until she started to talk rapidly. Noel and Tsubaki were looking at her with a barely concealed worry. It seemed she was achieving the opposite effect.

Shit.

“Um, maybe slow down a bit, Makoto,” Noel suggested.

The squirrel girl sighed.

“I can explain, but it will take some time,” she said. At the same time the bell rang signalling the beginning of the lessons.

Tsubaki looked in the direction of their class, but she quickly shook her head and merely sat down.

“Then, we will skip them,” Tsubaki decided. After seeing Makoto’s dumbfounded expression, she added. “I think Jin’s well-being is important to all of us and we can spare several minutes on it. After all it is a matter concerning the student council!”

Makoto couldn’t help smiling a bit, when she heard that. Tsubaki could be very strict, but somehow she made some allowances whenever it came to her friends. Especially, Jin.

“So, how about you start from the beginning Makoto?” the redhead suggested.

The squirrel girl took a deep breath and began once more.

“So when the break started I went straight to this room. Jin was already here, but he looked as if something upsetting happened. He also had a band aid on his face. He admitted that he got into a fight with Ragna during the weekend, but he clearly didn’t want to talk about it and left the room saying he needed some fresh air, “ she explained, this time a bit slower, so that her friends could follow.

“And you decided to follow him?” Tsubaki supplied.

“Well yeah. You know how he is. He often overworks himself and it seemed as if he was pushing himself, so I followed him to make sure he won’t collapse or something like that,” she paused and then added. “But he is fine from what I’ve seen. I mean physically fine. Tired, but other than that healthy.”

However, if her suspicions were correct he wasn’t _physically fine_ , but more of a _physically displaced_ type, right now.

Damn, that sounded dumb and ridiculous.

“So, there isn’t anything wrong with him?” Tsubaki asked.

“Well, as I mentioned he seems to be down. I don’t know why, though,” Makoto added. This wasn’t exactly a lie, because she truly didn’t know. She only had her unconfirmed suspicions.

“I see… I think we should confront him about it, when he comes after lessons.”

“If he comes,” Noel added timidly.

Makoto blinked.

“You think he will escape and leave us with all the work?” Makoto asked. 

“No, he already did his work,” Tsubaki said.

The squirrel girl blinked, rapidly understanding what was going on.

“You are saying he came early and did his share of work?”

Noel nodded.

Well, that actually made sense if her theory was right. After all, Ragna wouldn’t be able to do the student council paperwork. Therefore, Jin would have to do it when nobody was watching, since it would look damn weird if someone saw the delinquent transfer student diligently filling in the papers.

“But I believe he will come,” Tsubaki said strongly. “Even if something happened I trust he will come and explain it to us.”

“Yeah, he will!” Noel supported her words.

Makoto only nodded, but cynically thought to herself that while Jin would definitely provide some sort of explanation there was no guarantee that it would be the truth.

*

Jin Kisaragi indeed came to the student council room after the classes. Tsubaki was warned, but even then seeing the band aid on his face made her visibly uncomfortable. However, as far as Makoto could tell he looked better. He wasn’t moping like before, but rather showed signs of nervousness.

He was standing before the table around which the girls were sitting. After entering the room he briefly greeted them and then stopped in this place. It was obvious he was planning to say something.

“Jin, what happened to you?” Tsubaki asked impatiently looking at his cheek.

“Ah, this? This is nothing. Ah, the thing is that I… I went to have a fight with… with Nii-san,” he was making a lot of pauses, as if he wasn’t sure what to say.

“How could he?!” Tsubaki asked visibly shaken. Seeing this Jin moved his hand gesticulating for her to calm down.

“No, don’t be angry at him. It was my own fault. I was the one to suggest having this fight, so please don’t be angry at Nii-san,” the blond explained.

“Why would you agree to something like that Jin?” Tsubaki asked. There was a worry and a disappointment in her voice.

Jin cast his eyes down.

“That… that’s just how it is,” the boy answered slightly confused. He looked as if he didn’t expect that kind of question.

Tsubaki gazed at him in silence and then sighed.

“So what did you want to tell us?”

“Ah, that. Well, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay after school to fulfil my duties as student council president,” Jin explained.

There was a wave of consternation as girls looked at him in disbelief.

“Are you quitting?!” All of them asked almost immediately.

“What? No! Of course not! I just can’t stay after classes!” Jin answered lively, but he caught himself and after a fleeting moment of embarrassment, he returned to a neutral expression. “I-I meant to say that while I can’t stay after classes I do plan to fulfil my duties,” he explained, his voice wavering a bit. “I just plan to take my share of work home and do it there. I’m sure that soon I… my father will forgive me and then everything will return to norm,” he finished hopefully.

Seeing him like that, Tsubaki placed her hand on Jin’s shoulder.

“I understand,” she said silently, but then added with more power. “I understand you are having some problems, so don’t worry! As the vice-president I will take care of managing the student council until then! We will all wait for you!” She assured him.

“Yeah, we will work hard!” Noel added.

“I guess, I will have to help more~” Makoto winked as she said that.

“You guys…” Jin said quietly as he looked at the girls before him. “I… thank you. I-I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I will do my best. P… Tsubaki, could give me my share of documents. I will leave them here tomorrow morning.”

“Sure, Jin-niisama!”

As Tsubaki and Noel moved to prepare the materials for student council president, Makoto who continued to discreetly scrutinize Jin decided what to do next.

*

The squirrel girl run through the corridor. She have excused herself from student council room saying that she had an important business to take care of today. Jin was still there, since it would take some time to compile the documents he was taking. The announcement was sudden, so nobody was prepared that he would have to do his assignments as _home_ work.

Which was fine, Makoto needed to check whether her conjecture was right. Of course, she could confront Jin about it, but since she suspected that Jin was in fact Ragna, she believed it would probably work better if she asked Ragna, who was in fact Jin.

Damn, that was confusing.

Anyway, that seemed much safer. If she was wrong, then she would merely end up looking stupid before Ragna, rather than Jin. She could live with that. And if she was right, she believed it would be easier for her to drag the truth out of the younger brother who trusted her to some extent. Ragna was too much of a loner to rely on her when it came to such a delicate matter. He wouldn’t want to take that risk.

And that was why she was rushing through the school searching for Ragna, who she suspected was in fact Jin. If she was correct, he was probably lurking somewhere on the school grounds, waiting for his brother to finish his act and collect documents. So Jin-in-Ragna had to be in a secluded place. They would want to have as little potential eavesdroppers as possible. Also it had to be a space where Ragna could wait in, without teachers chasing him away. There was a limited amount of such places. And if she factored in the fact that it would be chosen by Jin…

She moved to the door at the end of corridor and then opened it loudly.

In the middle of the classroom, sitting on one of the desks was Ragna. He was gazing through the window with unseeing eyes. He was slightly hunched and looked a bit lost. However, immediately after hearing the sound of the door he straightened himself and looked into the direction of Makoto. There was a clear surprise painted on his face.

“M… what are you doing here?” The boy asked confused, but his face quickly changed into that of realization.

“Oh please, I was actually the best among my siblings when it came to hide-and-seek. Probably because I could read all of them like an open book. Turns out that figuring where my friends could hide is almost as easy,” she said in a joking tone, but there was a hint of her true intentions in her voice.

Which her listener caught immediately. He looked at her attentively, waiting for her next words.

“Also I’m quite good at noticing small details. You thought I wouldn’t see that you and your brother were acting strange? At first I thought that this weird happening neither of you wants to talk about made both of you upset. That was a logical explanation and I was trying to figure out what happened. So I followed Jin and imagine my surprise when I saw your meeting.”

“You were eavesdropping on him,” Ragna said with contempt.

“Both of you looked so down, it felt like a reasonable thing to do! You could get an award for not telling other people about your problems and feelings!” She pointed out annoyed. “Besides, it was difficult to hear what you were talking about. I only caught some phrases, but they made me realize. When you thought that no one was listening to you two, the way you spoke changed. And then I got the most stupid idea about what has happened. It was really idiotic, but there are reasons why I can’t dismiss it easily, so I will ask this.”

She paused. Ragna was just silently looking at her. It was unnatural and it was the final proof that made her say her suspicions out loud.

“You… you are Jin, aren’t you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: A brotherly dispute takes place (this time off-stage), while a much more civilized conversation happens.


	15. Secrets Have Furry Ears - Between a Cat and a Squirrel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This thing is still on hiatus, but I felt bad about leaving you with a cliffhanger. So here, have a new chapter. The inspiration for this story comes and goes very irregularly, so once again, I can't promise any updates. The fact that with the next chapter we will finally finish this arc's introduction (seriously, this was much shorter in my mind) which I had well planned and enter the middle which is... a much less planned part, doesn't help either.
> 
> And geee, after this chapter, it should be easier for you to keep track of who is Jin and who is Ragna. Plus I can finally update the synopis for this story to a more accurate one.
> 
> Also, shoutout to person who gave me the 15-th kudos on this, you are literally the reason I decided to make this update.

Ragna was looking at her silently. Makoto felt tense. While she had some strong evidence that supported her claim, it was still a very outlandish hypothesis. She realized she was waiting for Ragna to burst into a laughter after hearing her words.

No, she wanted to hear him burst into laughter, because she didn’t want to be right. Because if she was…

“You were always much too ingenious, Makoto,” the boy said with a small smile. “It makes things difficult for other people.”

She felt her jaw drop. 

Ragna…. No, Jin was now looking almost relaxed, after discovering that she figured out his secret. Makoto, on the other hand, was opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

“Y-y-you kidding me!” She shouted in despair.

What was with this timing?! She finally decided to be honest about her feelings and when she did something like this happens! Now, the object of her affection was not only a jerk with sociopathic tendencies who had a brother complex and was an object of affection of her best friend, but he had also swapped bodies with his brother. Not all that bad, but definitely less attractive brother. Damnit!

She felt as if some supernatural forces were trying to mess her life even more. Wasn’t it messed up already?! She had to deal with poverty, discrimination and now with supernatural phenomenon ruining her love live! Wasn’t it too much for one teenager?

“Shhhh,” the boy hushed her, after her shout. He looked as if he wasn’t sure if he should approach her or stay in place. “I know it is hard to believe, but please be quieter. We don’t want rest of the school to know.”

“Ah, right, sorry,” Makoto apologized automatically. “But.. but how the hell?!”

Jin finally decided to move from the desk and approached her.

“Not here,” he hissed, as he looked cautiously around. “If what you said is true we were too conspicuous and I’d rather not have another eavesdropper popping out,” he explained in whisper. Makoto realized that he was standing very close, which made her conscious. Sure, it might have been a wrong body, but she knew it was a right person.

Actually, would Ragna get very annoyed or outright infuriated if she started a relationship with Jin, now that the brothers were switched?

Wait, now was not the time for that! She should…

At that moment the door to the classroom opened once more.

“Oy. I have the necessary things….” The blond who entered the room started, but then fell silent as he spotted Makoto. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, which knowing him would be definitely offensive, but then he remembered the situation he was in and quickly closed his lips. The squirrel girl belatedly realized that she and Jin must look strange standing very closely to each other, especially because the boy had to lean so that he could whisper to her, due to his newly acquired height.

No wonder Ragna who had stumbled upon this scene was so confused.

“W-what are the two of you doing?” He asked trying to sound collected, but failing. Then the realization seemed to have hit him, as he looked enraged at Jin. “Wait, have you told her?!”

Jin sighed and then moved towards his brother, who was carrying two bags filled with documents.

“She figured out,” the youth said calmly. “It was earlier than I expected, but I suspected this would happen. We proceed as planned. You go ahead.”

“Wait, what do mean you expected that? Isn’t that…” Ragna continued to argue, but the white haired boy sighed in exasperation.

“You shouldn’t loiter around. I will explain everything once we regroup. Don’t make it more difficult for me, _Jin_.” After saying that name in an icy tone to remind his brother of their current situation, Jin unceremonially closed the door.

He made an exasperated face after that. It was exactly the same as the one Ragna made when he had to deal with his brother. She though that they may be able to pull the whole stunt better than she expected once they get more experience. The whole bodyswap business happened during weekend, so they had very little time to rehearse. No wonder they acted so unnaturally.

Jin turned towards her.

“I should probably apologize for dragging you into this mess, but since you decided to stick your nose into it on your own, I will only say that I expect you to at least keep this affair a secret,” he said in his usual no-nonsense tone. It sounded a bit unnatural coming from Ragna, but it helped Makoto get used to the fact that the one she was talking with was Jin. Of course, he continued to talk quietly to ensure nobody will hear them.

“Sure thing,” Makoto promised without thinking, but she quickly realized the implication of that request. “You are going to keep it a secret from Tsubaki and the rest of student council?”

She could understand why he wouldn’t want to share this secret with Noel, who he outright loathed, but Tsubaki and Taro were a different matter.

“Yes. I will explain my reasons when we reach the meeting point.”

A silence descended upon them. Jin returned to sitting on the desk, while Makoto paced around, trying to comprehend everything she has just learned. Finally, she stopped.

“Um, Jin?” she asked in a slightly uncertain voice.

“Ragna,” he corrected her. “I’m Ragna.”

“Ah, right,” she said realizing that now she will also have to control how she addresses the brothers. “Um, I didn’t really ask before, but how are you feeling?”

“Feeling?”

“Well, you have this… condition, but I was wondering if it maybe had some other effects. Physical or mental,” the squirrel girl tried to explain in the most vague terms she could.

“Ah, no. As far as I know, not. We were both extremely tired after this happened, but that was all. Our bodies seem to be fine. However, we were both extremely stressed, so I can’t say for sure about our mental state. Still, I haven’t noticed anything out of norm about my brother.”

“I see,” she said. She was happy that there didn’t seem to be any other issues. Or at least obvious issues.

“Let’s go. I see you can barely contain your curiosity and I’d rather not reveal more in this place,” Jin said as he moved from the desk. “I think I’d given my brother enough time.”

Makoto followed her friend. On their way she started a small talk on some meaningless topic as to not look too suspicious. She would look outright weird if she just silently followed the infamous transfer student, but if she talked with him they could just pretend that they have started to get along. Suddenly the mission that Tsubaki imposed on her to help brothers get along became beautifully convenient, since she had such a great excuse to get along with Ragna, while enjoying Jin’s presence.

It was horribly underhand, but Makoto wanted to find some positives of this problematic situation.

*

Tsubaki sighed as she was going through documents. She hoped to work on this together with Jin, but now the prospect was taken away from her. However, she refused to let this get to her. If Jin was in trouble then she could only resolve herself to work even harder for his sake. Besides, the fact that he wanted to continue to do his share of work from home had shown just how seriously he treated his responsibilities.

 _As a vice-president I need to ensure that the festival goes well_ , she thought.

Somewhere during this internal monologue she moved towards the window to watch the flow of the students. She knew Jin had already left the premises, but somehow watching the people move calmed her. Unexpectedly, she spotted two familiar figures in the crowd. She blinked.

“Noel,” she called to her friend, who was standing not far off and struggling with stapling the documents. “Isn’t that Makoto and Ragna?”

The blond moved next to her friend and also peered through the window.

“Yes, I believe so. They seem to be acting friendly,” she said happily. As usual, nothing made Noel as joyous as watching people she knew get along.

Tsubaki remembered that she asked Makoto to help with the matter of reconciling the brothers, so it made sense that she was trying to become friends with Ragna. However, as she watched the two figures she realized that Makoto looked positively radiating. She seemed to just be making a small talk, but somehow she put much more energy into it than usual and her tail was swinging happily.

“I’m probably reading too much into this,” she muttered to herself.

“Did you say something, Tsubaki?”

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s get back to work.”

Then again, Ragna and Makoto did have a lot in common, when she thought about it.

*

Jin lead Makoto to Ragna’s house.

“I’m back,” Jin said. “And I’ve brought a friend.”

“Welcome back. And nice day to ya, lady! It’s a blessing to have such a beautiful lass visiting again!”

“It’s also nice to see you again, mister,” Makoto replied as she smiled.

“Ya may just call me Jubei.”

“Thank you, then I will.”

“Where is brother?” Jin asked interrupting their pleasantries.

“Sulking in yer room. Could ya go shake im a bit out of it?” Jubai asked. “I’ll entertain our guest during that time.”

“Thank you. It may take a while, so please wait a bit,” he said as he turned towards Makoto.

“No problem. Go appease your grumpy brother,” she answered jokingly. “Make sure you don’t destroy this house in progress.”

Jin made a troubled smile and moved towards Ragna’s room.

“If ya destroy yer room I’ll kick yer asses!” Jubei called after him. Jin nodded without turning back.

The cat beastkin lead Makoto to the room with a low table, several bean bags and a lot of pillows. Makoto realized that it was a guest room.

“I get guests of all shapes and sizes, so I gave up on chairs. Say if ya want one,” Jubei explained.

“No, it’s fine,” Makoto answered as she sat on one of the cushions and crossed her legs.

“I will make some tea. Do ya want some?”

“Yes, th…” As she was saying that, angry shouts reverberated somewhere above them and then were silenced with a loud thud of closing doors. “Will they be alright on their own?”

“They need to learn to interact with each other. Give ‘em time,” the beastkin said as he moved to the kitchen that was located next to the room. 

Makoto wondered if brother’s relationship was something that would get better with time, but kept those doubts to herself.

“By the way, I heard that ya have figured out what that boys got themselves in,” Jubei said from the kitchen. Part of the wall was removed so that the rooms wouldn’t be completely separated. As a result it was easy to maintain a conversation with guest who were sitting in the main room from there.

Makoto looked around to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping on them.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe here,” Jubei assured her.

“Well, I noticed that they acted strange and after observing them some more I realized that they acted a bit too much like each other,” she explained. “So I figured out that they must have swapped their bodies.”

“I see. Yer are certainly bright. But ya need to be more careful,” the beastkin said, as he placed a tray containing several cups and a teapot on the table.

“What do you mean?” Makoto asked as she took her cup.

“I never said anything that proved that I do know their secret,” he said while winking.

“Ah, damnit,” the squirrel girl cursed as she realized that. “In my defence, I just can’t picture Ragna successfully lying to you.”

“And Jin?” Jubei asked with a hint of curiosity.

Makoto made a thoughtful face.

“Bigger chances, but still slim. They may not realize it but they are really similar. I don’t know Ragna all that well, but since I have known Jin for more than three years I have no problems reading both of them. To certain extent, of course.”

“Hahahaha, ya really have some good judgement the…” Jubei’s words got interrupted as a sound of something heavy hitting the floor could be heard followed by muffled noises of the further struggle.

“Will they really be alright?” Makoto asked with even more doubts.

“T’s fine. They seem to be trying to strangle each other. Neither really knows how to go about it, so they will only roll a bit until ‘ey get tired,” Jubei explained as he took a sip of tea.

Somehow Makoto could picture this perfectly.

Maybe a bit too perfectly, as she forcefully removed the image of both brothers in extreme close vicinity and her perverted ideas as to what it could lead too.

Damn, she didn’t consider it before, but the whole idea of bodyswap was kinda hot. Like, it was problematic in the current situation. Very problematic. But if it was possible to control who changes with who there would be so many interesting possibilities… and maybe Jin won’t end up scarred for life by this experience and would agree to it….

No, bad Makoto! Clear your thoughts! You are a pure squirrel who needs to concentrate!

“I-I see,” she added a bit belatedly.

Jubei smiled at her, blissfully unaware of her thoughts.

“Ya know, I’ve always wished Ragna would bring home a cute lass, but I never thought it would happen like that!” he admitted.

“Well, sorry, but I have no interest in Ragna. Like, _Ragna_ Ragna,” she clarified quickly.

The beastkin smiled at her.

“I know, ya love Jin, don’t ya? Ragna told me.”

“That idiot and his big mouth!” She shouted in annoyance.

“Ah, don’t worry. Don’t worry! I don’t think he told anyone else. And he only admitted that, because I’ve been teasing ‘im when you came last time,” Jubei admitted.

The sound of struggle above them had subsided for now.

“Sides, even if he haven’t told me it would be pretty obvious. To notice that they have swapped bodies you must‘ve watched ‘em closely. And if it wasn’t for Ragna’s sake, it could only be because of Jin.”

Makoto fell silent hearing that.

“I watch all my friends closely,” she finally said.

“When ya watch something too closely ya might miss the bigger picture. Make sure, ya don’t make that mistake,” Jubei advised her.

“Why are you telling me that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because those lads won’t understand even if I told ’em. Even as their world was turned upside down, they still refuse to notice important things. That’s why they need someone who ‘ll point ‘em in the right direction,” the beastkin explained seriously.

“Isn’t that your job as a parent?”

“I’m a failure as a parent. Though I’m not that bad as a mentor. As Ragna’s mentor I’ve tried to help ‘im, but he is stubborn. And I can’t be there for him all the time,” he looked at Makoto. “Helping someone who feels lost, isn’t that what friends do?”

Makoto once again fell quiet.

“I understand ya might not want to do this for Ragna, but frankly those lads are a package deal now. If ya want one, ya have to deal with the other.”

“That sounded kinda wrong,” Makoto pointed out as she imagined a bargain on the market ‘buy a handsome man and get his brother for free!’.

No, Jin was already a handful. No threesome deals involving Ragna!

Jubei tilted his head, visibly not realizing what was wrong with his wording. As Makoto thought if she should enlighten him, there was a sound of footsteps above them.

“It seems they finally got to some agreement.”

“What shape do you think they are in?” the squirrel girl asked curious. She wanted to test Jubei’s ability to predict what brothers will do.

“Ragna will be mostly fine. It would be difficult to explain why he is beaten up, so Jin was definitely holding back. He isn’t used to having his brother’s strength, ya know. So some light bruises, maybe some heavier ones, but that’s it. Jin will be worse off, Ragna probably landed several hits before he calmed down. So some nasty bruises. Oh, and a blackened eye, I think. Ragna targets opponent’s face when he is in a bad mood.”

Shortly after he finished speaking, both boys entered the room.

“I’m never going to wager with you,” Makoto said loudly, as she looked at Jin who had a blackened eye. Since it was Ragna’s body, it was as if he had just run into a band of thugs who were seeking revenge. Ragna on the other hand seemed fine, but Makoto quickly noticed that his right wrist was bruised.

Jubei just smiled knowingly.

“So, have ya came to agreement?” the beastkin asked.

Ragna pouted. Makoto thought it looked really cute.

“We found consensus,” Jin said, sitting down. His brother did the same, making sure not to sit too close to anyone, especially Jin.

“Then could you tell me what exactly happened to you two?” Makoto asked.

Ragna snorted.

“At this point you know almost everything we do,” he said. “We went to fight at some abandoned building belonging to Kisaragi’s. When we were fighting we saw some strange blue light…”

“Azure,” Jin interjected.

“Right, azure,” Ragna repeated absently the word. He looked as if his brother gave him the word he was searching for. “Well, anyway this light appeared and when we woke up, we were like that.”

“Body displaced. And yes, we have no idea what caused this.”

Makoto looked at them.

“And what was that building you were in? Maybe it had to do with your location,” she suggested.

“It’s… possible,” Jin admitted.

“So, what was that building used for before it was abandoned?”

“It used to be some sort of research facility. It was abandoned more than a year ago for no officially stated purpose. Whatever was researched there was such a big secret that even I couldn’t learn what exactly was the purpose of the experiments that were supposed to take place there.”

Makoto looked at Jin in silence.

“I don’t want to state the obvious, but it sounds _extremely_ fishy. Why on earth did you think that choosing that place was a good idea?” She pointed out, despairing over Jin’s impaired sense of genre-savviness.

“Of course I noticed that the reports were suspicious,” Jin replied, slightly offended. “Before I suggested that place as a suitable battle ground I checked it to make sure that there is no radiation, noxious fumes or wastes, architectonical defects or similar things. I spent several hours walking around that building and there was nothing dangerous I could spot. Unfortunately, I didn’t account for the supernatural factor.”

“Wait, you spent hours in that creepy place alone?” Ragna asked sounding somehow impressed.

“Um, yes. I wouldn’t just suggest an unsuitable place and I couldn’t really ask anyone for help.”

The implication that any person asked for help would refuse because the whole idea was ridiculous remained unsaid.

“Okay, I get it,” Makoto said. “So this lead won’t work?”

“I’m in no position to get more information about the project that used to be researched there. I can only say that there are even more strange circumstances. The electricity in the building is still working and I could see that some machines are definitely still powered by it. It is as if they had plans to return to this building in some not too distant future. There was quite a lot of machinery still left in various rooms. They were closed so nobody would have stolen them, unless they got access to keys. Also several of the security cameras were still working. I made sure they would show a false footage so that nobody would realize that I was using the building.”

“Okay, scratch that,” Makoto said. “Have you tried finding some sort of information about supernatural folklore?”

“We didn’t have time to do that yet,” Jin answered with a sigh. “Don’t forget that the whole thing happened on Saturday and we spent all the time after incident unconscious. On Sunday we were trying to adapt to this new situation and then we had classes today and worked on setting things up so that I can continue the student council work.”

“Right, right. I’m not criticizing you! I just want to know how things stand!” Makoto explained.

“The hell, you think you can actually help?” Ragna asked sceptically. “You are an occult fanatic, or something?”

Makoto gave him a level look.

“If you haven’t noticed, your acting is not perfect. If you end up forced to socialize it will be easier on you to have me save your sorry ass from any questions you can’t answer.”

Ragna opened his mouth, but closed it realizing that Makoto was right.

“Moreover,” the squirrel girl continued mercilessly. “I’m no occult fanatic, but I happen to know a person who has a lot knowledge about supernatural and magic stuff. No, more than that. She has experienced something like you two. That was why I didn’t find the idea that you two swapped bodies as ridiculous as I should have.”

“Wait, you know someone like that?” Ragna asked surprised.

“Well, Jin also knows her. Not her my-life-was-screwed-by-supernatural story, but he is acquainted with that person.”

“The person you are talking about is Mai?” Jin guessed.

“Yeah, I believe we should consult with her. As a person who is in similar situation she will definitely keep your problem a secret. And I think you should use this occasion to also tell Taro what happened,” Makoto advised.

“And why should I do that?” Jin asked her, as he crossed his arms.

“Because if I have figured out what happened, then he will surely find out too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna discovers that Jin does in fact have friends, Makoto discovers that Jin knows some things despite his denseness, and Taro is revealed to have a knowledge of certain matters concerning Jin that others don't.


	16. Friends and Lovers - Those Who Worry about You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are as always hectic. Updates will remain irregular, but hey, it's moving on. And with this chapter I had finally finished the introductory part of this arc. Someone slay me. I feel faint when I think just how much character development and reveals I need to squeez in before I can move to grand finale of this arc.
> 
> I ended up not being able to read through Remix Hearts, so Mai and Taro are rather loosely based.
> 
> I will love some responses, since I'm starting to move onto a more uncharted waters and I don't want to lose the grip of the characters, so if you see something worrying in characterisation tell me. I haven't played the game in long time and I don't really have time to do so, but I wanted to give you this update, because it's been long since I've updated.
> 
> Then again, the lenghth of this chapter almost makes up for the wait...

“You really think this is a good idea?” Ragna asked his brother, as both of them walked towards the dorm.

It was Tuesday, right after the classes. Yesterday, Makoto phoned Mai and set a meeting. She didn’t give her much details, deciding that brothers should be the ones going over this painful process. She was also planning to join them, but she had to stop by student council room, so she was going to be a bit late.

“Yes, the idea is sound. Mai is a victim of supernatural powers, just like us. If she exposed our secret, hers would be revealed too. We would probably end up as neighbours at the lab as test subjects. The other person, Taro, is her boyfriend. So he also wouldn’t want Mai do end up as guinea pig. Not to mention that he is my friend. And he can be as sharp as Makoto when it comes to people, despite his goofy attitude, so I think she was right to suggest confiding in him. It may save us some troubles.”

“Yeah, I understand that. But how do we know that that Mai girl really had some weird supernatural encounter?” Ragna pointed out. “I’m not saying that Makoto is lying, but what if that Mai told her a tall tale?”

“I don’t believe that is the case.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because it doesn’t fit Mai’s character. She is a type of person who can somehow lie by omitting the truth or some details, but is much worse at telling outright lies. Not to mention, she and Makoto used to date, which is probably the reason why Makoto learned about Mai’s secret,” Jin explained without changing his expression.

Ragna, on the other hand was visibly shocked.

“Wait a moment, so that Squirrel is into girls?” Somehow it didn’t fit with the fact that Makoto had a huge crush on Jin.

“Also. I believe the proper term is pansexual. She can feel sexual attraction to anyone who isn’t professor Relius,” the younger brother explained in a factional tone.

Ragna couldn’t tell if he was serious or if he was joking.

“Wait, you knew about that!!!!” a distressed voice shouted from behind them. Both brothers simultaneously turned around to witness a rather flustered Makoto. She must have caught up to them and then overheard their conversation.

Ragna tilted his head, slightly confused.

“The fact that you are… what was that word… into anyone?”

“That’s no secret!” Makoto hissed. She forced her voice to be quieter. “How the hell did you learn I dated Mai?” she asked looking straight at Jin.

He blinked.

“Wasn’t that obvious?” He asked confused.

Makoto looked shattered, as she slumped.

“You, you knew all this time… I thought you had no idea! I mean, you are one of the densest people I know!” The squirrel girl rattled. She seemed to have small break down after learning that Jin actually had some idea about her dating life.

This time Jin blinked confused.

“I’m dense?”

“You are!” Makoto and Ragna retorted simultaneously.

The squirrel girl realized that this might have not been the best thing to say to the person she loved, so she quickly added. “Sometimes.”

Jin looked as if he didn’t know how to react to the fact that his friend and brother regarded him as dense.

“Well, you were just… happily together,” he said, as tried to explain how he figured out his friends were dating. “Spent time together in your room. And I stumbled on you kissing once. I guess this was the biggest hint.”

Makoto looked as if her world has been crushed.

“You actually saw us?”

“Luckily, I realized what was going on, so I managed to withdraw without interrupting you,” Jin explained.

“Why did you never tell me?” Makoto asked.

“I didn’t see any need to do so. You wanted to keep this relationship secret, so I thought you will be happier if I pretend I don’t know anything.”

“I don’t want that kind of consideration! Now I feel like an idiot!” Makoto become even more disgruntled after hearing that, but she also looked somehow happy.

Jin continued to be confused. Ragna facepalmed, unable to stand the sudden romantic atmosphere.

*

The door to the room was opened by a tall girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail. She smiled when she saw her guests.

“It’s good to see you, Makoto, Jin!” she said happily. She hugged Makoto, who smiled.

“Nice to see you too!”

“Man, it’s been ages, since I’ve seen you!” A male voice called. A tan man appeared next to the girl. He sported a wide and confident smile, as he waved his hand. “I started to forget how your fur looks like, Makoto!”

“I hope you didn’t forget how your girlfriend looks like, that would be a problem,” the squirrel girl retorted flawlessly.

“I would never!” He proclaimed in a serious tone of voice. “And Jinjin! You look kinda horrible! Did something happen?” He said as he moved towards Ragna.

The youth took a step back, surprised by a sudden proximity of Jin’s friend.

“I’d been better,” he managed quickly, still somehow rattled.

“Hard to argue with that. And who is this weirdo? Did you get into a fight recently? Is your hair bleached?” The tanned man asked finding a sudden interest in the third guest. He didn’t seem discouraged by the fact that his blackened eye and tall posture made Jin look like a delinquent.

“That’s my brother,” Ragna said wondering if he should explain their situation right now, but he didn’t want to do this when the door to the room were still open and they could be easily overheard.

“Ah, you must be the infamous Grim Reaper! Ragna!” The man explained happily.

“Um, yes,” Jin answered simply.

“Wow, I would never think you and Jinjin are brothers! Nice to meet you! I’m Taro!” The man proclaimed happily and extended his hand. “You might have not seen me around since my family pulled me away for _some really important stuff that apparently couldn’t wait_ , so I’ve been absent for the last two weeks. I swear, for someone from branch family that is only distantly connected to Duodecim I get too much of their work.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jin answered and shook the hand without changing his expression. He seemed to just go along with the flow.

“Uh, I told you earlier, but this is Taro and Mai,” Makoto said as she turned to both brothers. “And how about we start to discuss what we came here for? It will definitely take a lot of time,” Makoto suggested, as she moved past her friends into the room.

The teenagers sat on the chairs in a circle of sorts. Mai and Taro prepared some drinks and snacks. Makoto quickly poured herself a glass of carrot juice.

“So where should we begin?” She asked as she turned towards Mai and Taro. She wasn’t sure if she should start from explaining the relationship between the brothers or their problems.

“Probably from saying what is wrong with Jinjin, because something _is_ off,” Taro said, his voice humourless. He was now scrutinizing his friend, trying to figure out the reason for his strange behaviour.

Jin sighed.

“You were right about the fact that he would quickly catch on,” he said.

“That’s a lesson for you. You shouldn’t underestimate your friends,” she answered proudly and then turned towards Mai and Taro who looked at the exchange with confusion. “Let me do the introduction properly. So, Mai, Taro, this is Ragna Bloodedge, older brother of Jin,” she said as she gestured to Ragna. Her friends looked at her in surprise when she pointed to the blond boy’s body. “Currently, body displaced.”

There was a moment of silence, as her friend digested the revelation.

“W-wait, so this is Jin?!” Taro shouted as he pointed to white haired student.

“That is correct,” Jin answered with a shrug.

“Oh, so this is what you meant when you said there was a supernatural trouble,” Mai said with understanding as she looked at the brothers.

“Yes, this is a huge problem,” Makoto said with a sigh.

“More like a huge pain in the ass,” Ragna said in annoyance.

“Wow. I never thought I would hear Jin saying something like that,” Taro said in amazement. “I mean, I know it’s not him, but you know, in his voice.”

“Could we return to the main topic?” the younger brother suggested.

“We probably should,” Makoto agreed. “Anyway those two idiots decided to get into a fight. Again. They went alone to some creepy, abandoned facility owned by Kisaragi’s and when they were literally crossing their swords there something weird happened, they lost consciousness and when they woke up they were like this.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of dubious decisions!” Taro pointed out.

“Thank you for your comment, captain obvious,” Ragna deadpanned.

“Um, so can you tell me something more about this incident?” Mai asked.

“Not much,” Jin admitted. “There was a flash of azure light before we were knocked out and, well, there was this kind of weird atmosphere,” the younger brother trailed at the end sounding uncharacteristically vague.

“What do you mean by weird?” Mai continued to question him.

For a moment brothers looked at each other as if they were trying to ascertain just how much should be said. However, they quickly broke the eye contact. Silence continued as both of them looked at the floor thinking how to answer.

“Just… weird,” Jin finally said. “I can’t put it well into words.”

Makoto frowned. It was obvious to everyone that the brothers weren’t telling them something, but nobody tried to pick up on the topic.

“That’s not much to go by,” Mai said thoughtfully. “It may be hard to find something about it.”

“Oh, come one. How many body switching supernatural powers are there?” Ragna complained.

“We don’t know if that power was meant to switch your bodies,” Mai pointed out calmly. “It might have been a malfunction of some sort. What we need to find is the source of the power that affected you. If we locate it, we should be able to figure out what exactly happened and whether or not it is possible to reverse the effects.”

“Wow, that sounds _really_ reassuring,” Ragna continued to show his discontent.

“It’s not like we can promise you anything,” Taro pointed out. “We will do our best, but we are no wish granters.”

“Thank you very much for your help,” Jin said with gratitude. Ragna grumbled something under his breath.

“Come on, Ragna. It’s not like I promised they will be able to immediately fix your situation,” Makoto said in exasperation.

“I know, I know. I just expected something more than empty words,” Ragna said raising his hands in defence.

“They aren’t empty!” Makoto said with a venom.

“Yeah, yeah. But coming back to the topic. Squirrel said you also were a victim of paranormal powers,” he said as he looked at Mai.

“Ragna!” Makoto shouted hearing his insensitive words.

“What? I don’t want to be the only one having to share my embarrassing story! If we are doing this _victims of supernatural support group_ we might as well all come clean. You two might have known her for some time, but I haven’t. I want to know who I’m dealing with exactly.”

Makoto was still giving him an angry look and Taro was clearly displeased. Jin tried not to look too judgemental. Mai had a troubled expression and needed a moment to compose herself.

“Ah, it’s fine. That’s only fair,” she agreed. “Don’t glare at him like that, Taro.”

“Are you really okay with sharing your story with him?” Makoto asked.

“It’s okay. He and Jin deserve to know.” She paused to gather her thoughts before continuing. “So several months ago I had a magical accident. When I was browsing through the books in my family’s library I found one that seemed to be very old. I started reading it and at first everything was normal, but then suddenly words just leapt out of the book. They constrained me. I couldn’t move and my whole body felt weird and when it finally ended I realized that my sex changed,” she finished awkwardly.

“W-wait, so you turned into a guy?” Ragna asked in shock.

“No. I _used to_ be male. I never managed to find a way to reverse the effects of that accident,” Mai explained.

Ragna fell quiet upon this revelation. Jin looked thoughtful.

“So you knew about this, Makoto?” He asked. She nodded. “That certainly explains why you have figured out what happened to me and Nii-san so easily.”

“As you can imagine I was very confused about my identity and, well, sexuality after that incident. Makoto really helped me figure things out,” Mai’s voice was full of gratitude. Makoto blushed.

“D-don’t mention it. You were one of my best dates. You deserve the best!”

Mai grinned upon hearing that.

“Um, aren’t you uncomfortable being, ya know, girl?” Ragna finally asked, once more showing his utter lack of tact.

“I was at first, but as time passed I got used to it. I come from a very traditional family, which has been pushing a lot of responsibilities on me ever since I was small. But after the accident they stopped caring about me and my future. They even sent me to a normal high school. Until then I was always tutored. In a way, this change liberated me. I said I haven’t found a way to reverse that magic, but it’s more like I have given up on searching for it after I started dating Taro. I’m just so happy with who I am now that I no longer wish to change back into a male. Being a woman suits me better,” she explained.

Brothers listened to this confession in silence.

“Just so you know, we really want to change back,” Ragna stated.

“Of course, I understand. Your situation is different than mine!” Mai admitted as she waved her hand.

“Also it’s bugging me, you,” Ragna said as he pointed to Taro, “don’t you feel weir dating her?”

Makoto facepalmed at the question and Jin rolled his eyes.

“Why should I? What’s in the past is in the past. Right now she is a girl, body and soul. Whether she used to have a dick before we meet or not has nothing to do with me,” he answered with a shrug. “And if you have nothing more constructive to say I think we can finish this. Kisaragi’s would hate it if you were late for the dinner.”

Ragna glared at Taro, but agreed and prepared himself to leave. Jin was about go with him, but he was stopped.

“Could you stay a bit longer Jinjin? I haven’t seen you for long time!” Taro said with a smile, as he put his arm around his neck. Usually he could do so easily, but now Jin was in a body taller than his own, so Taro had to stretch more.

Jin looked at Ragna consciously, as if he wasn’t sure what to do about the situation, but the older brother shrugged and quickly left the room.

“Yeah, I guess I can stay,” Jin said still looking at the door.

“That’s great! Mai, darling, wasn’t there something you want to discuss Makoto?” Taro said, as he quickly turned towards his girlfriend.

“Ah, right. Could we talk for a moment?” Mai immediately caught of the meaning and left the room with Makoto in tow.

As the two boys were left alone in the room, Taro closed the door.

“We need to talk,” he said as he turned toward his friend.

*

Ragna sighed, as the car owned by Kisaragi’s transported him back to his new “home”.

_I acted like a total asshole, haven’t I?_

He didn’t feel all that guilty. He hardly knew Mai and Taro, so he didn’t care if they hated him. Rather than that he was angry at his own immaturity. Somehow meeting those two completely threw him off.

Seeing that overly friendly guy just wrap his hand around Jin made him feel nauseous. Especially, because it was _his_ body that his brother was in now. Who gave that idiot right to infringe on the personal space of his body?! Just what was he thinking?! Who does he think he is?!

Ah, right, Jin’s friend.

There really are people worried about Jin…

_Am I that jealous of him?_

Ragna asked himself as he looked at the scenery behind the window.

He would soon return to Kisaragi mansion, which was probably the most lonely place to ever exist.

Okay, it was fine that Jin had friends. No, really. He had to live with Kisaragi’s who could make anyone nuts. He deserved some friends even if he was a traitorous and homicidal psycho of a brother.

However, Ragna believed he himself did not deserve what he was getting. Due to body swapping Jin had escaped from the toxic atmosphere of Kisaragi family, but at same time he still had friends in which he could confide: Makoto, Taro and Mai.

_But I have nothing!_

Ragna used to have no friends, but he could at least have some peace of mind at home. Now, he still had no friends, while at the same time he had to spend a quality time with Kisaragi family. It was totally unfair! Why was he the one to get a short stick out of the whole deal? Why was Jin always the one to avoid consequences?

Ragna winced as the car stopped before the mansion. He quickly hid his frown and returned to pretending to be someone else.

_There really is no justice in this world._

* 

“That was really badly made excuse,” Makoto said with sigh as she stood together with Mai next to the vending machine that was placed at the end of corridor.

“Sorry about that, but guys have their secrets,” Mai said with a wink.

“Way too much!” Makoto spat with frustration. She made a tired sigh and then raised her head as she remembered something. “By the way, Tsubaki and Noel have no idea about this. And those guys want it to stay like this.”

Mai looked at Makoto confused.

“But why? Wouldn’t it be easier to arrange things if they knew?”

Makoto made a small laugh.

“It would. I even suggested that, but those guys were too stubborn to agree to that. Ragna doesn’t trust Tsubaki and it was already a chore to convince him to come here. And as for Jin… He doesn’t want to burden her, I guess.”

“Burden?”

Makoto looked around to make sure no one else was in the corridor.

“You know how Kisaragi’s used to stalk Jin?” she asked in a whisper.

“I heard from Taro,” Mai admitted.

“Well, they also used to subtly interview Tsubaki about him. She had no idea. Someone would just start a chat with her on an unrelated occasion and then turn the topic towards Jin. They literally used her as an information source.”

“And she doesn’t know?” Mai returned the whisper.

“No. You know her. If she had any idea just how much of an assholes Kisaragi’s are towards Jin she would try to set things right. So he never told her and I agree it’s for the best. Her family’s standing is already kinda bad. Not to mention Jin is the last person to complain about his own problems. I only learned of the fact that they literally stalk him, because he needed some help with dismantling the cameras they installed when we were still in the middle school and I was the best choice he had.”

“Wait, so if you are afraid that she will tell something to Kisaragi’s isn’t it all the more reason to tell her?”

Makoto made a sigh.

“No, because she isn’t good at lying to people. Jin is afraid that they would notice she is hiding something from them and then pressure her family. And well, I wouldn’t put it past Kisaragi’s.”

“Uhhh, I see,” Mai said with a sigh. “But isn’t it still dangerous for you to keep her uninformed?”

“Not really. I mean, she will probably notice that there is something strange going on, but what are the chances that she will figure out what happened? She has no idea about supernatural actually existing. All she can give to Kisaragi’s are vague information that they would get anyway. And… ugghhhhhh,” Makoto made a frustrated sound. “Yes! I know it’s unfair towards her, but both of them insisted. I hate having to keep this a secret from her and Noel, but those idiots would stop talking to me if I breached their trust. And I can’t leave them to their own devices when they are like that!” Makoto explained in annoyance, but she still made sure to keep her voice down. “And as for Noel, both of them decided that she would be, I quote, nothing but trouble. I obviously disagree, but I had no strength to argue with them at that point. It was a long day.”

Mai seemed to want to ask something, but she was interrupted by the sound of the door opening suddenly. Both girls saw Jin quickly leaving the room and heading towards the exit. Taro stood in the doorway and watched him with a concerned expression.

*

“Geee, no wonder you never introduced your brother to us. I always thought that you were, like, the most unsociable person to exist, but I see this runs in the family and you are actually only second in line to the title of the most grumpy person in the world,” Taro said jokingly to Jin, when everyone else left the room. The younger brother didn’t say anything to that.

“Cheer up a bit! It’s not your fault, your brother is a bag of issues!” the tanned boy added as he took a sip of drink. An awkward silence settled in the room, as Jin made a somehow painful expression and started to avoided eye contact.

“It isn’t, right?” Taro repeated in a more questioning voice.

Jin just shrugged in response. 

“Did you make me stay just to make a small talk? If so, I’m leaving.”

“Of course not!” the tanned boy said quickly, stopping Jin from leaving. “I just wanted to talk to you a bit before that. I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“It was just two weeks,” Jin said dismissively, but made no further attempts to leave. “Get to the point.”

Taro sighed and his face steeled. It was obvious, he was going to address a touchy subject.

“Jin, are you alright?” he asked seriously.

The younger brother frowned. 

“Aside from the body displacement, yes,” he answered unamused.

“You know I’m not talking about that,” Taro sighed.

“Then about what?” Jin tried to appear normal, but the question made him stiffen in discomfort.

“I can see you’re stretching yourself. Are you sure you aren’t… relapsing?” Taro said choosing his words carefully.

Jin narrowed his eyes.

“The recent events have indeed been straining, but I believe this is caused by my _physical_ condition.”

Taro sighed.

“I’m just worried about you, Jin. That’s all. And this is also a mental condition, in case you didn’t notice that your _mind_ has moved to a different body.”

Jin got quiet for a moment, but he still looked defiant.

“I’m managing. Yes, this situation also places additional mental burden on me, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” he reassured his friend yet again.

“You don’t look well, you know,” Taro pointed out.

“I need to do my best. If I don’t I will doom both myself and Ragna,” Jin explained in annoyance. “I’m not in the top condition, but neither is my brother. _Neither_ of us feels comfortable about the current situation.”

“You two should take it easy for now,” Taro advised him. “I will take care of the research together with Mai. You should concentrate on getting used to this… switch. Get the hang on living someone else’s life. Especially, since you two aren’t close. Like, damn, I had no idea you had a brother until Noel mentioned it during one of the meetings. You never told me anything about him,” Taro said as he turned towards his friend, his gaze full of curiosity.

“There wasn’t much to talk about,” Jin said in exasperation.

“Lies, he’s clearly important to you.”

“Yes, I have older brother. Two years older to be exact. He hates me. We were adopted by different families ten years ago. We only reunited about two years ago when we ended up going to the same middle school. We regularly get into fight. That’s all. You probably already know most of the story from girls,” Jin explained in a detached voice.

“Why does he hate you?”

“He has his reasons,” the youth answered laconically. “Now, pardon me, I need to return to the house to complete the student council work.”

Taro made a gesture as if he wanted to stop his friend, but Jin simply bypassed him and left. The tanned boy sighed as he watched him walk away. He couldn’t help feeling worried about his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Makoto makes the brothers lives more intresting (again) and Ragna is forced to look at his surrounding from a slightly different perspective, while Jin remains stuck in the past.


	17. Student Council - The Place Where Your Friends Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that! A new chapter. Does this mean that the hiatus is over? Who knows. The truth is this update is sponsored by the fact that we are slowly getting to the part where I write about the infamous Incident Ten Years Ago and this forced me to make a timeline, because I was slowly getting lost in all the events. Anyway, I wanted to share the timeline (well, a part of it, since I won't go about spoiling the main plot), so if you want you can [check it here](http://tren-fraszka.tumblr.com/post/131020035040/youth-and-havoc-timeline).
> 
> I might take some time with the next chapter, as I feel it is rather... overbearing, as it is now. Basically it is a transition chapter before we finally dive properly into the part explaining the messy past of the siblings, but somehow this transition chapter ended up being rather long and horrible for all the characters involved.

“Jin! Here you are!” A happy voice stopped Ragna, who was trying to slip out of the class unnoticed. Which was hard when you were occupying the body of your brother who happened to be regarded as an extremely attractive student council president. Not that it would be easier, if he was back to being an infamous transfer student…

“Ah, Tsubaki!” He said, trying to smile, as he turned towards her. After some mental training he was able to remember to address her with her name. He still tended to stumble over Makoto’s name, though. There was just too much Squirrel in Squirrel for an easy transition. “What brings you here?”

“Were you trying to sneak away to avoid us again?” she asked looking straight at him.

“I-I wasn’t…” Ragna denied in panic, but he didn’t sound convincing.

Tsubaki just sighed.

“Look, Jin,” she said in a calm voice. “I know you probably feel off due to that incident during the weekend, but I don’t understand why you suddenly decided to put a distance between us,” she admitted.

“I just don’t crave company right now,” Ragna answered trying to sound steady. Interacting with Tsubaki was difficult. He wasn’t used to being nice to people like her. It was easy antagonizing her. 

Reassuring her? Not so much.

“You look like you do. Jin, I admit I don’t understand what’s going on between you and Ragna, but it isn’t a reason to avoid us. You could use some company.”

Ragna paused. Did he look that desperate for some sort of interactions?

“I… well, maybe you are right,” he said, as he felt himself giving up. Jin asked him to specifically maintain his cover when it came to Tsubaki and he would. Mostly because he felt there were already too many people knowing his secrets. Noel and Tsubaki remained oblivious and he would do his damnest to make it stay that way.

Which was why he allowed Tsubaki to lead him to the student council room with bento box in his hand. He had to say, Jin’s friends were fast. He only skipped two lunches with them (today was Wednesday) and they already felt the need to escort him.

_Does he trigger some sort of protective urges in people?_

It was hard to judge for Ragna, since he had his own stupid brotherly instincts which automatically made him worried about Jin, whether he liked it or not.

As the door to the student council room opened, Ragna was greeted by a familiar face.

“Ah, good morning, Jin!” Noel said quickly. She was in the process of unpacking her own lunch.

“Morning,” Ragna answered without much emotion. He couldn’t be too nice to Noel due to his cover. He looked around, but didn’t spot a second girl that should have been here. “Makoto won’t be eating with us?”

“She said she had to check on something,” the blond explained with a troubled smile.

Tsubaki shifted and struggled not to show a similar expression on her own face. Ragna noticed there was something off about the mood.

“Did she run into some trouble?” he asked, as he raised his brow.

“Trouble? No, there is no trouble!” Tsubaki quickly assured him.

Noel waved her hands in panic as she nodded to those words. Ragna paused. The girls were acting very suspicious and he felt some curiosity, but right now he should be concentrating on his cover.

_So what would Jin do in this situation?_

“I see,” Ragna answered with a poker face. After that he simply sat and started unpacking his own lunch without changing his expression. Noel and Tsubaki visibly relaxed, when they realized the topic had been dropped. The blond even sighed loudly in relief.

Ragna acted as if he didn’t notice that as he started to consume his lunch. Luckily, Jin probably wasn’t the type to chat too much while eating. Ragna made sure to pace himself, so that he wouldn’t run out of food too soon. It gave him a great pretext to remain silent, as he chewed his lunch.

Noel and Tsubaki seemed a bit uncomfortable with this sudden lack of conversation, but before they found some sort of new topic the door opened and Makoto entered.

“Oh, here you are Makoto!”

“Good morning, Makoto.”

“Did you forget your lunch?” Tsubaki asked as she noticed that their friend wasn’t carrying anything with her.

The squirrel girl was out of breath and needed a moment to compose herself.

“Yep, I’m here! Morning to you too! No, I didn’t forget, I left it here. Also, everyone, there is something I feel we should talk about!”

“Talk about?” Tsubaki asked surprised.

Everyone had their eyes fixed on Makoto. She rubbed her neck as she averted her eyes for a moment.

“This will sound strange and crazy. Probably like the worst idea ever, but I think we really should give it a shot,” she trailed off for a moment. It was obvious that she was trying to figure out how to explain her plan to make it sound like it wasn’t as much of a disaster as she already made it to be. “To put it plainly, I think we should invite Ragna to have lunch with us!” She said loudly as she looked once more at her friends.

Ragna dropped his utensils. Noel froze, her eyes huge due to shock. Tsubaki meanwhile opened her mouth, but couldn’t articulate any words.

“Uh, I should have expected that sort of reactions,” Makoto admitted with a sigh. “Look, I know how that sounds. Inviting the infamous delinquent to eat with us? Preposterous! But you know, I talked to him a bit and I began to realize the big guy is just lonely. And I figured out that we should try to fix it! I’m sure he would stop being such a jerk, if he got some people to talk to.”

Tsubaki finally regained her voice.

“Well, I understand where you are coming from, but what about…” she trailed as she looked at Ragna. 

Makoto also set her sight on him.

“I admit, everything depends on how you feel about this. You are still _the president_ , after all. So would you allow _Ragna_ to come eat with us? I’m sure he won’t do anything violent! I would hate to leave him _alone_. He totally deserves to have _some_ company!” The brunette explained as she purposely stressed some of the words. Ragna almost rolled his eyes as he listened to her.

_Keep your act together._

He closed his eyes and took a breath. He had to think clearly. This was probably Makoto’s random idea which she decided to implement without asking Jin about his opinion. If she did, he would probably insist on planning the whole event out and talked with Ragna beforehand. So this improvisation was definitely hers alone. Ragna just wanted to dismiss it entirely, but what she said held some ground. In a way she was trying to restore what Jin lost and what was rightfully his. What’s more, there didn’t seem to be any downside aside from the fact that he would have to tolerate his brother’s presence. And he already had to do it anyway ever since they changed bodies. Actually, it might even be helpful, because Ragna wasn’t sure how exactly he should interact with girls and Jin could help him in case things started to go south.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” he said cautiously. Makoto’s big brown eyes were concentrated on him. He felt unnerved. “But I’m not going to oppose it. If he wishes it, he may come here. But if anything happens he has to leave,” Ragna said seriously, but there was a slight fluster in his voice. He didn’t even have to play that part.

The squirrel girl’s eyes shined.

“Thank you! You are a great guy! I will go and tell him that you agreed!”

Before anyone could stop her, Makoto left the room at unbelievable speed.

Ragna was quickly starting to regret agreeing to this stupid plan.

“Are you really okay with it?” Tsubaki asked him. She seemed slightly worried. “Makoto can be pushy about those things…”

“I would say no if I thought it was hopeless. But I guess I still believe in my brother,” Ragna said wistfully. Noel smiled happily when she heard that admission.

No matter how much he tried he could not cross his brother out of his life. He knew he could never manage that. Even with all the disappointment in Jin he had accumulated, the hope that there was still something salvageable about him refused to die.

“Of course, I understand,” Tsubaki quickly added. She paused for a moment. “I haven’t mentioned it before, but I approached him before.”

“You did?” Ragna asked with a bit of delay, when he remembered he should be surprised by this confession.

“Yes, I’m sorry for that. I… He… threw me off loop and I said some harsh words to him. I definitely didn’t leave the best impression. That was very immature of me, but… Ah, no, never mind. Without doubt some fault lies on my side. I can’t dismiss it. Anyway, I was thinking about apologizing to him, but I want to make sure he takes my apology seriously. I hoped to consult Makoto, because she seems to have a good grasp of him, but I didn’t get occasion to do so,” she admitted with a troubled expression.

Ragna despite himself started to feel a bit sorry for her. She seemed to sincerely regret her words toward him. He sighed and turned toward her.

“My brother,” he said stressing the words, “is an unrepentant jerk, but I’m sure that he will have enough sense in him to accept a sincere apology.”

Tsubaki looked at him with wide eyes. Ragna realized he might have overdid it, but her face quickly softened.

“I see. Thank you. I will make sure to apologize properly,” she said with a light smile. Ragna felt slightly flustered at that. He wasn’t used to girls responding so… positively to him. He was used to arguing with them and calling them names. Granted, Noel had always been nice to him, but she was so similar to his sister that he had always took her attitude for granted.

Realizing that Tsubaki might have really meant well when she approached him, was surprising for Ragna. At that time she quickly lost her temper, so he didn’t think twice about her intentions. When she started to ask about Jin he had immediately assumed she was trying to pigeonhole him as a delinquent to maintain the perfect image she had of his younger brother.

It never occurred to him, that she might really wanted to listen to his side of the story, so when he saw a sign of weakness he attacked her fiercely where he knew it would hurt the most.

_Guess, we are both jerks. ___

__As he decided that, the door opened and Makoto practically dragged Jin through them, which was an impressive feat considering he was in Ragna’s body. His eye was still blackened and made him look more dangerous than usual._ _

__“Wait, Makoto, stop… that’s…” Jin fell quiet as he realized he was already in the room. “Ummmm…”_ _

__An awkward silence descended. Jin tried to escape, but Makoto still held his hand with an iron grip, so he only managed to jerk ineffectively, as he remained rooted in the spot. He looked panicked around the room and stopped his gaze on Ragna. There was silent plead in his eyes to stop this madness._ _

__The older brother could only sigh._ _

__“We expected him to come voluntarily here,” he pointed out, as he gestured to Jin. This statement had broken the initial shock. Noel gasped. Tsubaki stiffened, but then quickly got up and approached Jin._ _

__“Ragna Bloodedge,” she announced seriously. The youth stopped struggling, when he realized that the redhead was coming his way. He looked questioningly at her, before looking once again at Ragna. The older brother averted his eyes in embarrassment, realizing what was going to happen. Tsubaki, unaware of the awkwardness of the situation continued. “I wish to apologize for my behaviour two weeks ago. I shouldn’t have lost control over myself like that. I’m sorry I haven’t listened to you properly back then and instead assumed things.”_ _

__She bowed slightly. Jin’s face was full of confusion as he realized he was being apologised to. Ragna thought he looked really dumb when he made a face like that._ _

__“Uhhh. Don’t sweat it.” Jin finally said, his voice slightly wavering._ _

__Makoto, realizing what was going on, elbowed Jin playfully._ _

__“You should also apologized, you acted like a total jerk back then,” she hinted. At the same time, she winked towards Ragna with mischievous smile. He wanted to show her an obscene gesture in response, but unfortunately he had to maintain his role as Jin Kisaragi._ _

__“You are right, M-Squirrel,” Jin responded, almost stumbling on her name. He quickly turned towards Tsubaki. “I-I’m sorry, I guess,” he said, his voice uncertain. Tsubaki smiled slightly as she heard that and Jin instinctively almost returned the smile, but quickly caught himself on it._ _

__“Khem. Is that what you have dragged me here for, Squirrel,” he asked as he turned toward Makoto with unamused face._ _

__“You can call me by my name!” She announced happily. “And no, this isn’t why I brought you here. Look, since you are a total loner and you spend your lunches alone like a sore thumb I decided to find you a good company! From now on you can eat lunches here, together with us!”_ _

__“Makoto!” Jin whined, but there wasn’t much strength in his protest. He looked as if he wanted to scold her, but at the same time wanted to thank her and wasn’t sure which option he should choose._ _

__“Hahahaha, you look much less intimidating when you are flustered like that,” the squirrel girl pointed out happily._ _

__“I’m not flustered!” Jin denied barely upholding his dignity. He averted his gaze from Makoto, who looked much too smug about what she had done, only to notice his brother’s unamused stare._ _

__Ragna was very slowly and deliberately chewing on his lunch, as he watched the joyous atmosphere that suddenly enveloped the room and obviously didn’t feel like he belonged here._ _

__“Then I will have a seat,” Jin said quickly, as he took the place usually occupied by Taro._ _

__“Ah, right, before I forget. I ran into Mai and Taro as I was leading Ragna here. They were totally making eyes at each other. They said they won’t be eating with us today.”_ _

__“Is that so? I hoped we would meet Taro. And Mai haven’t been visiting much even though he wasn’t here,” Noel pointed out._ _

__“Well, I kind understand her,” Makoto said. “We are seeing each other at dorm a lot and we often do meals together, so she prefers to spend time with her other friends during the breaks. I mean, Tsubaki and Jin are the only ones who don’t live in dorm and Tsubaki visits so often I sometimes forget she doesn’t.”_ _

__“Makoto!” the redhead protested._ _

__“Ah, about that. I have washed the clothes you left last time, Tsubaki. I put them the same place as usual, with the rest of your clothes,” Noel announced happily._ _

__“Noel!” Tsubaki got red, but didn’t try to argue further._ _

___Things sure are lively here._ Ragna couldn’t help thinking that, as he watched girls’ banter. Maybe keeping them company wouldn’t be so bad after all._ _

__*_ _

___I honestly didn’t expect Makoto to pull something like that, _Jin thought as he walked home. He could take bus, but he enjoyed taking a stroll. Kisaragi’s always insisted that he should commune using car. He often escaped that obligation by excusing himself with a morning jog, but usually he was forced to return to the mansion in a limousine, just like his family wished.__ _ _

____But now he was free of that influence. He could walk home. There would be no stifling family obligations waiting for him. Just a dojo and Jubei cooking another of his vast repertoire of meals._ _ _ _

____It was blistful._ _ _ _

____It was…_ _ _ _

_____Too good to last._ _ _ _ _

____Actually, it would be better to say, it couldn’t last. Every minute Jin spent escaping from his family, was a minute his brother had to endure it in his place._ _ _ _

_____Nii-san…_ _ _ _ _

____Jin felt a wave of guilt flooding him. Somehow he always ended up causing nothing but trouble for his brother. He didn’t want it to be this way. He wanted to return to those happy days when Ragna would smile at him sincerely. When everything was bright and simple._ _ _ _

____However…_ _ _ _

_____Broken things can’t return to how they were._ _ _ _ _

____He was all too aware of it. Past couldn’t be changed. Relationships could never be truly restored. And most of all: it was impossible for broken people to regain what they lost. Ragna would never smile at his brother, while Jin could never return to being an innocent and loved brother._ _ _ _

____Reality just didn’t work that way._ _ _ _

_____Ragna…_ _ _ _ _

____Once more he thought of his brother, but he was interrupted by a sudden pain. It was so unexpected that Jin doubled over. He instinctively reached and grasped his right shoulder. It was now pulsing with pain. He took sharp breaths trying to calm himself. A nauseous feeling overtook him and he vomited._ _ _ _

____The pain disappeared as suddenly as it appeared._ _ _ _

____Jin straightened himself, still heaving._ _ _ _

_____Did I eat something bad or was it…?_ _ _ _ _

____As he tried to collect himself he stared at the mess he made. Luckily he didn’t vomit on his clothes, only dirtying the pavement. There was a strange unease. It felt like there was something dangerous near, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location. For a moment nausea returned, but it quickly subsided.  
Jin realized some passer-by were looking at him and he hastily resumed his walk. His sudden attack stopped, leaving only a strong feeling of discomfort._ _ _ _

____He wondered if he should talk to someone about it, but decided against it._ _ _ _

____After all…_ _ _ _

____“…is it a retribution for what I’ve done?” the youth asked loudly, not expecting an answer._ _ _ _

____He believed this was the case._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: The Great Kneesock Debate takes place. Also, weekend comes and everyone has way too much time to think about their current situation. Makoto has doubts about how to proceed, while Ragna and Jin continue to struggle with their new lives.


	18. Doubts and Grievances - Crossroads that Lead into Uncertain Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, last time I was a bit down and I made it sound as if this chapter was bad, but that's not true! I even edited the preview. It may contain some distressed youths, but nothig that bad (yet!). Well, the good news is, the responsibilites that have been weighting on me and resulted in a bit of writer block are gone. The bad news is, they are not gone completely and I still have the yuletide fic to write.
> 
> The better news is, the plot will move forward after this, since it's really high time we got to the topic of why Ragna's and Jin's relationship is so bad. So yeah, we are going places. I still haven't exactly sorted out, how to move the story after I finish with presenting their issues. I don't want to rush to the end of this part of the story, but I already feel as if I was taking too long with setting things up for the future development. This part will probably end with the school festival, because who doesn't like school festivals? 
> 
> Also, after two years of failure I may finally manage to finish a valentine side-story. You may have noticed a curious note in the chronology I listed, which is precisely because I had idea for a little story since I started writing this fic. Wish me luck, so I may actually post it during the valentines to come.

It was Friday and the student council returned to normal, despite the presence of infamous delinquent during lunch breaks.

At least as normal as it used to be…

“No, no, I’m telling you, Makoto. Over-knee stockings are nice, but nothing can beat the thigh-high ones,” Taro argued from above his lunch.

“You are the mistaken one! There’s barely any flesh visible if they are wearing thigh-high socks!” Makoto countered him fiercely, as she continued to consume her sandwich.

“That’s the point! That’s exactly the point. Sometimes the lack of exposure works better than outright exposure, but you wouldn’t know that!”

“The skirt and stockings already cover most of it. You can’t see much anyway!”

“Precisely, it’s about imagination and anticipation! It has a bigger impact then!” Taro continued to argue for his point. “You don’t understand a true man’s romance! Jinjin! You agree with me, right!” he shouted towards Ragna who was slowly consuming his meal and pointedly ignoring the conversation. He glared at the tanned boy, as he finished chewing. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

“I guess… both are fine I think,” he finally said. He had no idea what Jin thought on the matter, but he himself never read too much about it. He didn’t think that girl’s clothing was his business.

“What a boring answer,” Taro said with a sigh. Makoto also looked dejected after hearing that answer. Ragna felt like punching them, but stopped himself.

“What about you, Ragna. Which do you prefer?” Taro asked as he turned towards Jin. Makoto also did, this time with a much more curious expression.

“When it comes to stockings? I think full ones are the best,” he answered without hesitation.

There was a silence, as both of them tried to understand just what exactly lead him to this conclusion, but they failed to see where his answer came from.

“And why is that?” Taro asked.

“I think they would be the most practical and comfortable. Over-knee and thigh-high stockings would slip easily. So I imagine the full ones would be the best to wear,” he explained.

Taro opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but closed it. Makoto on the other hand raised her eyes to the ceiling and muttered. “I don’t know what I expected.”

Noel smiled happily.

“Ah, isn’t it moments like that, that we remember they are brothers?” she innocently asked the group. Everybody nodded. Jin and Ragna looked offended, but said nothing.

“But really, has neither of you ever though what you would want to see girls wear?” Makoto asked loudly. She seemed unhappy with the answer she had received, as she looked straight at Jin.

“Um, in what situation?” the younger brother asked feeling slightly disturbed by the stare.

“Any situation!”

“Something in which they feel comfortable,” Jin answered innocently.

Makoto felt like crying. She looked at Taro with a face of martyr. He smiled at her emphatically.

“Um, what about you, Jin?” Tsubaki asked. “Surely, you have some preference.”

Ragna shrugged.

“Girls should just wear what suits them. I mean, aren’t you all doing just that?” he pointed out. All the girls in student council had skirts of various length, due to the lack of school regulation. As long as skirt covered what necessary, anything was fine according to principal. There were also no regulation where it came to socks and stockings.

“Yes, I guess we are,” Tsubaki said with a slightly strained expression.

Mai laughed seeing the two dejected girls.

*

“My, my, somehow everyone is getting along unexpectedly well,” Mai mused loudly.

Makoto laughed. They were on their way back to the dorm.

“Those idiots are a handful, but it’s an endearing kind of idiocy,” she admitted as she made a small sigh. “But honestly, what type of guy has no preference when it comes to those matters!”

Hearing Makoto’s complaint, Mai only smiled.

“They are just the type to think more about the person than their clothes.”

“You made it sound like they are actually really nice guys, not socially inept,” Makoto pointed out.

“We all have our strengths and weaknesses,” Mai retorted with a smile.

The squirrel girl hummed to herself.

“By the way, how is research going?” she asked.

“We’ve only just started, but I can already say that we aren’t making much progress.”

Makoto tried not make a disappointed expression.

“Is that so?”

“We have too little leads,” Mai admitted. “The only concrete thing is that azure light they mentioned.”

“Yeah, that’s not much of a lead,” the squirrel girl admitted.

“Which is why I wanted to ask you. Could you perhaps get more information out of them?” the black haired girl asked seriously.

Makoto looked at Mai.

“So you also noticed they are hiding something.”

“It was very obvious.”

“I guess, but I’m not sure I will be able to drag this information out of them. They are stubborn like… like our principal!”

“Wow, you did find a good comparison!” Mai was awed.

“Of course I did!” Makoto said proudly, but then her shoulders dropped slightly. “Trust me, I’m the most curious one here, but this whole situation is so… delicate. I’m afraid that if I screw up they will stop talking to me altogether.”

“I think they like you too much for that.”

“You really think so?” Makoto almost stopped in her track hearing that. “I mean, I know Jin kinda likes me, but I wasn’t sure about Ragna.”

“I don’t think he fully trusts you, but I think he likes you,” Mai muttered with a thoughtful smile. “He’s the type that is no good at showing he likes someone.”

Makoto sighed.

“Yeah. He’s different bag of issues than Jin. I mean, Jin has some weird responses, but you can easily tell whether he likes you or not. And Ragna. It feels like Ragna can’t tell himself whether he likes someone or not.”

Mai nodded.

“Yeah, he seems very confused. He just struck me as a very lost person when I first saw him and I’m beginning to think that this is the reason why he acts so strangely.”

“Um, just so you know. He also acted like that in middle school, so it’s not like he started antagonizing everyone due to the… incident,” Makoto finished confidentially. They could discuss the brothers’ characters without worrying about anyone eavesdropping, but their body-swap problem was a different matter.

“No, no. When I said lost I meant more like me after I came here,” Mai explained. “It’s like he can’t find the place where he truly belongs. And that’s something truly frustrating for him.”

“Well, that’s true. Which is why I invited him to start visiting student council. It was also for Jin’s sake, of course. But I hoped that Ragna would have a place to return after we… resolve everything,” Makoto explained in a more even voice, choosing her words carefully.

Mai grinned.

“He probably reminds you of yourself during middle school.”

Makoto straightened.

“Didn’t you just say that he reminds you of yourself?” she asked suspicious.

“Not really,” Mai said as stuck her tongue playfully. Makoto snorted. “Only that it’s easy to sympathize with some of his struggles.”

Makoto averted her gaze.

“I guess it is,” she muttered. There was a moment of silence as two girls passed the gate leading to the dorm. “It’s kinda strange to see someone who is just like you used to be,” Makoto finally admitted.

“Maybe. But he is not you and you are not him,” Mai warned her friend.

“I know that!” Makoto answered annoyed. “It’s just… You know, when I visited Ragna some time ago I saw the photos of those two as kids. And just by looking at them I could tell that those two genuinely loved each other. And I mean it as a very positive sibling love,” she quickly added. “And I just can’t understand. What happened to twist them and their relationship into something so… distorted.”

Mai looked at her with a sad smile.

“Who knows, but this might actually be a pretty big hint,” she finally said.

“What do you mean?” Makoto asked suspiciously.

“Let’s get to my room and I will explain,” Mai said, as a group of other students living at the dorm passed the two of them. The squirrel girl nodded and the two girls quickly moved upstairs.

Only when both of them were seated, enjoying both the privacy of the room and the tea, did Mai begin to explain her story.

“I’m not trying to pass here as any sort of specialist when it comes to the supernatural. While I investigated it extensively, there are still many things I don’t know and it’s impossible to tell which sources talk about a genuine magic and which contain nothing more than people’s delusions or lies. However, based on my own experience and some of things I read I begin to think that magic isn’t all that separate from us.”

“Uh, could you be a bit more specific? I’m having trouble following you,” Makoto admitted, as she scratched her head.

“To put it simply, I think that the effect that this strange tome had on me might have been influenced by my own being, or to put it more bluntly, my desires. Even if I didn’t comprehend it completely at that time I wished to escape from my family. To become someone else. And I think that the tome might have responded to that.”

“Wait, so you are saying that they wished to change places?” Makoto asked, because the whole idea sounded ridiculous.

“No, I’m merely saying that they may have affected the phenomenon that they experienced,” Mai explained with a serious face. “Their emotions might have influenced the magic that made them change bodies. Our feelings often aren’t rational. And well, this is only a speculation on my part, but I was thinking which emotion could be connected to body swapping magic and I think it might be…”

“Jealousy!” Makoto almost shouted, as she finally understood what her friend meant.

“Of course I might be completely off-base. This is nothing more than a speculation on my part,” Mai quickly added. “And it’s definitely not a case of simple envy. As you said there is something twisted about their relationship and I believe that understanding the feelings those two have towards each other might help me find out what happened. I read of some cases where a supernatural incident was very closely related to the victim’s issues.”

“Why didn’t you say that when I dragged those two idiots to meet you?” Makoto asked. This was a fairly important information that could help solve the mystery surrounding their body-swap.

“I decided not to, because the mood was already horrible,” Mai admitted with a sigh and took a sip of her tea. “If I told the two of them that I need them to talk about their feelings and what happened between them in the past they would probably reject my help altogether.”

“True enough.” The mood _was_ , indeed, terrible. Mai probably made a good decision not mentioning that during the meeting. “So what you are driving at is…”

“I think we should split our jobs. I will continue to search books for some clues, while you try to learn what they aren’t telling us and what happened between them in the past.”

Makoto was quiet for a moment, but then she nodded.

“I will,” she said strongly as she stood up. “I will drag truth out of them whether they want it or not. This is no time to be hesitating. This mess needs to be cleaned!”

*

Ragna was beginning to get used to living with Kisaragi’s. Mostly because he made damn sure to avoid any interactions with them. 

The question was how long he would be able to keep that up.

And it was answered on Saturday morning, when Ragna sneaked into the kitchen to make himself a breakfast. Meals in the Kisaragi household were superb and Ragna could find no fault in the cooks, but at the same time he wasn’t used to eating meals that weren’t cooked by either him or Jubei. Not to mention he felt slightly paranoid due to Jin’s warning about strange medicaments that Kisaragi’s may try to feed him.

So, to make sure his meals were safe Ragna spent the last week sneaking into the kitchen and making them himself. At first staff seemed to be uncomfortable, but they got used to it quickly enough. Ragna found solace in cooking. After all ingredients couldn’t talk or cause him any serious trouble. Unlike people.

As a result of that Ragna found himself caught up in a new schedule. He would wake up early to make himself a breakfast and lunch. After school he would spend some time at Jubei’s place, learning Jin’s sword style and acquiring information about the Kisaragi household that he should know. He would usually eat there and then return to mansion. He would excuse himself from dinner and later sneak out to make himself a light supper. This way he managed to avoid most troubles and his plan to spend as little time as possible with his new family seemed to work flawlessly.

However, on that Sunday morning Ragna discovered he grew complacent since, soon after he left the kitchen he had encountered his “brothers” who were obviously waiting for him.

“My, my, now where do you think you are going?” one of them asked.

Ragna narrowed his eyes.

“To my room,” he answered shortly.

“Recently you’ve been doing nothing but sitting in your room,” another brother complained. Ragna could vaguely recall their names, but he wasn’t sure he remembered them correctly.

“I don’t believe it’s something that only appeared recently,” Ragna answered coldly. Jin admitted to him that he spent most of his time in his room.

“Why yes, but usually you would at least keep us company during the meals,” the first man pointed out.

“I just felt like eating alone. Surely, this is not a problem?” Ragna asked with a slight edge in his voice. He was hoping to scare them away, but he clearly miscalculated.

“Of course it isn’t a problem,” the second “brother” chirped. “We are just worried about you. We would feel better if you could join us today during dinner, so we can all see everything is fine.”

Ragna almost bit his lip in frustration. He realized he walked right in the middle of the trap. He desperately tried to think of some way out of it, but nothing came to his mind. If he refused to come, the Kisaragi’s could use it as an excuse that there is something wrong with him.

He looked at the two men and made a slightly strained smile.

“I see. If this will put you at ease I will come today.”

“Father will be happy to hear that!”

Father. So that old fox was involved in this whole scheme. Well, that was not surprising. The two men seemed to have achieved their objective, as they started to leave.

“See you, at the dinner, brother,” one of them said in a mocking tone. Ragna almost grinded his teeth. Jin’s distorted “nii-san’s” were hundred times better than this thing. It was almost as if he was a slave, not a member of the household. Well, maybe not a slave… a prized horse?

Yes, that was it.

Ragna suppressed the urge to punch the wall.

*

Ragna was not completely lost when he sat at the dinner table. He had practiced with Jin in case he ended up forced to eat with the Kisaragi’s. The whole thing still seemed foreign and the amount of cutlery was giving him a headache. It was also difficult for him to concentrate, because there was a conversation going about some Kisaragi business and he really hoped they wouldn’t ask him for his opinion. While the first servings came and went without anyone bothering Ragna, the second part of the meal was where the hardships began.

“Still, I must say, you look a bit tired Jin,” one of the females at the table suddenly commented. “I haven’t seen you much recently.”

Ragna almost dropped his fork, but quickly regained his integrity and tried to smile reassuringly.

“The school festival is coming and there is a lot of student council work to do,” he answered as if this explained everything.

“Are you sure you are alright, it wouldn’t do if you fainted,” the woman continued. It was obvious she was more worried about the family reputation than Jin.

“Yes, which is why I’ve been making sure to rest as much as possible recently. If it’s not a problem I would prefer not to attend our family meals for some time,” he added, deciding to confront the problem. It was a risky gamble, but if he succeeded he would be spared from any more _family dinners_ at least until the festival.

“Oh dear, if it’s so taxing maybe you should have a talk with our physician,” the woman continued.

“I’m fine,” Ragna quickly assured her, because he remembered Jin’s ominous warnings.

“Some health supplements would surely help,” the woman continued. Ragna suddenly realized, that the rest of the Kisaragi’s were unnaturally quiet. They were all silently watching him like a flock of hawks waiting to descend upon the prey. Ragna suddenly felt very small and cornered. The pressure was almost unbearable.

“I-I… yeah. I will go see the physician later,” he said, because he wished to stop this conversation. He wanted to run away from all these people and barricade himself in his room, sword in hand.

The woman said some more things about being healthy, but conversation easily moved on to different topics. Ragna had excused himself from dessert, saying that he had enough to eat and escaped to him room. There he locked the door and curled on the bed. He screamed into a pillow to get rid of at least some of the frustration.

The day after tomorrow he would have to confront the physician.

*

Jin stood before the mirror in Ragna’s room. It was embedded into the doors of the wardrobe, so that it wouldn’t take space. 

He was still getting used to living here. In the room belonging to his brother. Living with Kisaragi’s was… uncomfortable, but humans were resilient. Jin got used to living with them. He learned how to deal with them, how to keep his distance so that they couldn’t hurt him. He could cope with the toxic environment there.

But this place… in a way it was much worse. It was impossible to forget that the room belonged to Ragna. It wasn’t his room. He was intruder. He was not meant to be here. This place was too good for him. He didn’t deserve this space.

And worst of all, it wasn’t his body. Jin felt more miserable the longer he looked into the mirror. Ragna was always the taller and stronger of the two of them. His huge frame seemed to embody a power and safety. Even in his memories Jin remembered following his brother’s broad back.

Jin sometimes hated his own body. It was frail and looked unreliable. It was far from robust body of his brother; a body capable of protecting others and supporting them.

His was undependable body, that looked too much like Saya’s. In Jin’s mind it was the worst comparison. He remembered Saya as weak and small. He didn’t want to be like that. That was one of the reasons why he started to train with swords. He wanted to be strong and reliable. He wanted to be a person others could rely on. He wanted to be someone like Ragna.

But he wasn’t. Maybe he was never meant to be?

He touched the mirror and couldn’t help feeling jealous. He looked at the imposing body that wasn’t his. Was never meant to belong to a person like him. He never deserved to have such existence.  
Jin’s gaze caught the black scar on Ragna’s right shoulder. He touched it carefully with his other hand and immediately felt a stab of pain there. The scar seemed to be aching and pulsating. He was so surprised that tears appeared in his eyes.

He quickly removed them, but the more he looked at the scar the more miserable he felt.

It was an inerasable evidence of his sin.

Jin slowly got into a crouching position and hid his face so that he wouldn’t look at his reflection.

The memories of past replayed before his eyes.

He remembered Ragna’s accusation of betrayal, his harsh words and seething hatred.

The tears started to spill from Jin’s eyes as truth hit him.

He would never be like his brother. He couldn’t protect things.

_“You destroyed our family! Because of you! Because of you dad and mom are getting divorced! It’s your fault I’m hurt! Because of you… Saya… Saya is gone!”_

Jin could never forget those hateful words. They have always haunted him.

“This… is my fault… right?” He asked between the sobs.

Only silence answered him.

* 

Makoto was lying on bed and trying to think of some way to approach the topic of the brother’s without scaring them off. She knew she should probably get some sleep, but her restless thoughts were preventing her from falling asleep.

“Neee. Noel, are you sleeping?” she asked quietly.

There was a creak of mattress.

“Not yet,” the blond girl replied.

“Noel, how would you go about asking someone about something they are obviously keeping a secret?” Makoto asked.

There was a long pause. The squirrel girl started to suspect that her friend fell asleep, but then she heard a reply.

“I think I wouldn’t ask about it in the first place,” the girl finally admitted.

“Why?” 

“Because that person probably has a good reason to keep this secret a secret. Wouldn’t they?” Noel answered in a slightly wavering voice. “We are all keeping some sort of secrets, aren’t we? Aren’t you keeping a secret from Tsubaki yourself?”

There was a silence, this time from Makoto’s side. The squirrel girl turned slightly red as she realized what Noel meant.

“So are you saying that trying to discover someone’s secret is bad?” Makoto asked suddenly feeling very conscious.

“It depends on situation, I think,” Noel admitted after yet another pause.

There was another minute of silence.

“I-I want to find out what happened between Jin and Ragna,” Makoto finally said. “I want to know, why their relationship got so bad and… and help them mend it somehow.”

Makoto could hear Noel moving on her bed. She felt slightly nervous after proclaiming her intentions, because she was afraid what her friend would think of this plan. Makoto was trying to set her foot in the middle of something very personal. Normally, she wouldn’t think twice, but she had a bad feeling. Everything about brothers reeked of danger and Makoto wouldn’t be surprised to find some very literal skeletons in their closet.

But she was determined to solve this problem. Jin and Ragna were aggravating idiots, but they were also her friends. And she knew she could go far for her friends.

“I see. Good luck.” Makoto was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t register those quiet words at first. When she belatedly realized what she heard she almost shot up, but stopped herself. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, but Noel seemed to be asleep at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The saga of people comparing Makoto to Ragna continues. Makoto tries to extract information from Jin, but ends up biting more than she can chew, Jubei tells a story of his past which he believes to be relevant to present situation, and someone is found eavesdropping. Again.


	19. Tea and Confessions - Past is made of Regrets and Siblings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! Let's celebrate with new chapter featuring some tea, frustrated squirrel, tragic backstories and maybe, just maybe, an actual display of affection (wow!).

“So we have a list of stalls ready,” Tsubaki said. It was a lunch break, but since the student council was slightly behind the schedule she decided to use this time to give some overview of what they had to do and assign the work. This way they could start on their assignments immediately after the classes ended. “Noel already volunteered to prepare and send the mail to all groups which applied their stalls. After that she will keep an eye on our inbox, while helping me with some things. I will also stay here, in case someone comes in person to discuss anything relating to the festival. Taro, I know you had a family business to take care of during the last two weeks, but since you are finally back I expect you to fulfil your duties as the member of student council,” Tsubaki said as she turned towards the tanned boy. He sighed.

“Yes, yes, sorry about leaving you guys behind. What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“There are certain matters we need to discuss with the teachers who are also helping organize the festival. Jin had already made a list of things we need to decide on. Here it is,” the redhead said as she handed it to Taro. He nodded. “Well, I know you can’t stay with us, Jin, so I will send you a mail with all important matters as usual.”

“I will be counting on you,” Ragna answered trying to sound as genuine as possible. Tsubaki smiled timidly after hearing that, but she quickly composed herself.

“Um, Makoto, will you have some time today to help us?” she asked, as she turned towards the squirrel girl.

“Uh, what exactly do you want me to do?” she asked carefully. Makoto was eager to immediately jump into her plan of discovering Jin and Ragna’s past, but at same time she wasn’t sure how to go about it. She decided that the best course of action would be to have a one to one talk with one of them. However, she wasn’t sure how to initiate it, so that it wouldn’t end up awkward. She was still looking for good opportunity. While she wanted to help her friends with preparations, she also didn’t want to miss a chance to have a talk with one of the brothers.

Preferably, Jin, of course.

“We decided to use the last year’s stall placement, but I’m not sure we got everything correctly. Apparently, there were some troubles with that last year. I wanted you to go around and measure if we calculated the amount of space we have available correctly. It will be probably easier if you find someone to help you with that.”

“I see…” Makoto muttered, while her thoughts raced. This would be a tedious and time consuming task. However, it should provide several opportunities for a personal conversation without anyone eavesdropping. With that in mind, Makoto turned towards the white haired youth who was eating his lunch quietly.

“Ragna, would you like to help me out?” the squirrel girl asked cheerfully.

Jin froze as he realized Makoto was talking to him. He glanced at Ragna, who merely shrugged unhelpfully.

“I guess I can,” Jin answered carefully.

“Then it’s decided!” Makoto announced happily and made a victory sign in her mind.

While her main reason was questioning Jin, she still couldn’t help feeling excited at the prospect of spending some time with him.

*

Ragna sighed as he walked to Jubei’s home. Ever since the switch he would meet there with Jin to exchange information and plan their next move. He would also train with Jubei so that he would be able to fight like him. While there was low chance that he would have to show his swordplay, Ragna did not think this was meaningless. Even if he had to use someone else’s sword style he still enjoyed training. Somehow, it helped him calm down.

He wondered if the training session would be longer today, since Jin wouldn’t be coming.

_Maybe I should have made him refuse Squirrel’s offer._

He did talk with Jin for a bit about the upcoming prospect of confronting the physician, but his brother didn’t have any good advices. He gave some small warning s and reassuring words, but none of them felt very helpful.

He entered dojo with a sigh.

“I’m home,” he said, while bitterly hoping that soon this statement would be true once again.

He wasn’t sure how long he will survive dealing with his current “home”.

*

Measuring the space for stalls was indeed boring. Unfortunately, during the first hour of work there was no opportunity for proper talk. They worked near the main entrance to the school and as a result they had constantly encountered other students. Makoto knew this would happen, but she still felt impatient. She wasn’t good at repetitive and tedious tasks like this and if it wasn’t for Jin at her side, she would have probably ditched the work by leaving it to someone else after the first half of an hour.

_Be a strong squirrel, Makoto. You have a mission to fulfil._

However, she felt slightly distracted, because the people lingering around the school noticed the two of them working together. With her keen hearing, Makoto could easily hear bits and pieces of their conversation.

“…surprised to see him working diligently like that…”

“When he’s like that I think I do see similarity between them…”

“…hard to believe he’s so calm…”

“…seen his eye! Totally got into fight!”

“Makoto!”

“…if you were showing off before a girl…”

“…personally, I’m not into this sort of bad boys…”

“…but look how tall he is!”

“Guess, she’s reeling him…”

“Makoto!”

“…they do make a nice pair, if you think about it…”

“…well, he’s nowhere near Jin, but he’s not _that_ bad…”

“I envy her for being so forward with boys…”

“Makoto!”

The squirrel girl finally noticed Jin was talking to her and quickly snapped her head into his direction.

“Ah, yes, what were you saying?” she said quickly, realizing he must have been trying to get her attention for a moment, because he had an unamused look on his face. They were both holding their respective ends of measuring tape.

“I was asking for measurements,” he said and after a short pause he added. “Thrice.”

“Sorry, I got distracted!” Makoto apologized and quickly told him the numbers, resisting the urge to make a three sizes joke. Jin nodded and wrote them down, as he let go of the tape.

“Okay, that’s the last one at the front. Now we will be doing those at the side of the school,” he announced and then added quietly, so only Makoto would hear him. “Hopefully, it will be a less distracting environment.”

“I’m really sorry, okay?!” she repeated as two of them moved towards the side of the building. 

Unfortunately, sport’s field which would need no measuring was going to be used as a stage for some small performances, so they still had a lot of work to do. Makoto noticed that the students lingering around the school were slowly leaving, but at the same time there were still some who were moving near them due to their club activities. The squirrel girl shot an annoyed look at the members of track club, who were standing not far from them and sighed.

It would still be some time, before she could question Jin.

*

Ragna sighed.

“What? ‘S my tea bad?” Jubei asked, as he looked the youth.

“No, I just didn’t think you would make it a tea part of all things,” Ragna admitted, as he peered into his cup.

The two of them were sitting on the bean bags in the living room. Jubei chuckled.

“T’s been long since we had tea. Just the two of us.”

“I thought you would use this opportunity for some more training,” Ragna explained.

“I know ya love pushing yerself, but sometimes ya should just sit around and relax a little.”

“I’m having a meeting with Kisaragi’s physician today. I’m everything but calm.”

“All the more reasons to ‘ve a tea,” Jubei pointed out.

Ragna sighed once more. He could never win an argument with his guardian.

“I was meaning to ask ya. How ‘re ya hanging?” Jubei asked, in a softer tone.

The youth blinked, as he thought how to answer.

“I, ugh, don’t like it at Kisaragi’s. I wish I could return to living here,” he said trying to sound neutral. He didn’t want to sound like he couldn’t manage it when talking with Jubei.

However, his mentor read him perfectly.

“No need to hold back, Ragna. I wanted to talk with ya without yer brother, so ya could be sincere. How are ya coping?” Jubei asked seriously.

Ragna sighed.

“It’s a hellhole. It’s horrible. Like a freakin prison, I even have bars in my window. Like what the hell is that? I want out of there!”

Jubei was silent for a moment as he sipped his tea.

“I see,” he finally muttered.

“Is that all you have to say?” Ragna asked in annoyance.

“So what are ya going to do?” Jubei continued asking completely ignoring youth’s outburst.

“What I’m going to do?” Ragna repeated mockingly. “Isn’t that obvious? Make sure I won’t have anything to do with Kisaragi’s when I finally get my body back!”

Jubei was silent for a moment.

“And what about Jin?”

“What about him?” Ragna asked irritated.

“Don’t ya feel bad for him? He’ll ‘ve to spend time in, how ya put it, hellhole?” Jubei calmly pressed on.

Ragna shifted uncomfortably. Truth was, he was trying not to think about this.

“He’ll be fine. He’s used to dealing with them,” Ragna answered, but his voice was slightly subdued compared to his previous outbursts.

“Just because ya’re used to something doesn’t mean it’s good for ya,” Jubei pointed out.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ragna asked.

“It means I don’t want ya to have any regrets,” Jubei answered. He took a sip of his tea. “How about I tell ya, a story?”

*

Makoto hated her life. They second hour have passed and she still haven’t managed to ask Jin even one significant question. She tried to instigate some small talk, but the youth was mostly concentrating on the measurements they were doing. The members of sport’s clubs remained a constant presence so there was no opportunity for more private questioning either.

The lack of progress combined with the tedious work slowly destroyed Makoto’s patience. Luckily, Jin was observant enough to notice that and suggested that they take a break.

“Yes, definitely!” Makoto almost shouted, as she rose from the ground. “Let’s eat something! I’m starving.”

“Ah, yes,” Jin agreed. Neither of them expected to stay so long after their classes ended so they had no food with them. The cafeteria would be already closed, so they walked to the nearest shop.

“This work is horrible. Horrible!” Makoto shouted in despair. “I shouldn’t have agreed!”

“Now, now, we have done most of the work. I think we should finish it in another hour,” Jin said calmly.

“I don’t understand how you can like that kind of boring work.”

Jin raised his eyebrows at that.

“I don’t enjoy such menial tasks,” he pointed out, annoyance in his voice.

Makoto stopped rapidly.

“Then why did you agree to do this?” she asked as she looked at him curiously.

“Because you asked me to help, obviously,” he pointed out, as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Oh.” Makoto didn’t manage to make a more wordy response, since she was busy trying not to blush.

_He means it in a friend way Makoto! Don’t let his suave response fool you!_

“Besides I feel slightly guilty that I cannot help in a more significant way,” Jin admitted.

“Ah, I guess, but you are still making a fine job despite everything going on!” Makoto tried to reassure him.

Jin only nodded, but Makoto could see that this situation still bothered him.

“Don’t worry, Tsubaki will make sure the festival goes without a hitch!” the squirrel girl reassured him with a smile. “Trust her to get the job done!”

Jin made a small smile in response and Makoto smiled even wider.

They bought some sandwiches and drinks. There was no good place to sit down and eat near the shop, so Makoto suggested returning to the school ground, where they should have plenty of free benches. Jin seemed to have some doubts, but after Makoto assured him that they would find some spot that gave them privacy he relented.

Guess even he felt slightly bothered by people gossiping behind his back after two hours. That suspicion turned out to be true.

“I’m sorry for giving you trouble,” he muttered as they walked back.

“What trouble?” she asked because while it was true Jin gave her a lot of trouble, she was sure he was oblivious to most of them. She had no idea for what he was apologizing in this case.

“For those rumours. It seems some people are starting to think you are dating the infamous transfer student,” he explained with a slightly derisive smile.

Makoto snorted.

“Oh, come on. We are only working together on some festival stuff. Plus I wouldn’t date your brother. I mean, it’s not like he has bad looks, but he’s like…” Makoto trailed trying to think about some neutral and sensible reason different than admission that she was too much in love with Jin to ever consider dating Ragna.

“Too similar to you?” Jin asked. Makoto glared at him.

“Not you too…” She complained. “You are second person to say that!”

“Ah, I’m claiming similarity when it comes to the… more positive parts of his character, of course,” Jin rectified awkwardly. “However, few he has.”

Makoto gave Jin a cold stare.

“That was such a great compliment,” she deadpanned. “If you were frank like that more often I’m sure much less people would find you attractive.” She pointed out dryly.

“I’m not trying to be attractive,” Jin pointed out troubled. “And that did come slightly wrong, I’m sorry.”

“Unless you want to claim I’m a perpetually angry ball of violence with severe trust issues, you’d better amend your words,” Makoto said, feeling a slight annoyance at Jin criticizing her, even if he has done it indirectly.

“No, it’s not like that. You used to be like that, but it’s all in the past and you are…” Jin continued, but his explanation was interrupted because Makoto took a step with such a force that she made a crack in the pavement.

There was a moment of silence.

“Sorry, I got deconcentrated for a moment and used to much force,” Makoto said, as she turned towards Jin with a smile that was clearly forced.

He was silent for a moment, as he evaluated his options.

“I think we should drop this topic,” he finally suggested.

The silence continued even after they found a free bench and started eating. Makoto was angry at herself. Because she let her emotions run wild the mood got weird. She was going to ask Jin about his past, but she was so agitated that she couldn’t think of a good way to do it. Instead, she stuffed the sandwiches angrily into her mouth. Jin seemed to look at her with slight worry.

“Umm, did I upset you that much?” he finally asked, when Makoto finished eating. He was still in the process of consuming his sandwich.

Makoto made a loud exasperated sigh.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. However, she knew she had no strength to pretend she wasn’t bothered. The boring job they did earlier dried most of her mental strength. Her worries about what she was going to do also didn’t help.

“No, I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I didn’t think comparing you to my brother would aggravate you so much.”

Makoto made a small scoff.

“I don’t think any girl would like being compared to an elder brother,” Makoto pointed out. His obliviousness could be really unbelievable sometimes.

“I meant it as a compliment,” Jin insisted. “You know, the fact that you are strong and dependable and you always look after people close to you…” His voice was going quieter as he enumerated.

Makoto was silent for a moment. It seemed she had finally found a foothold.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I know that side of Ragna,” she admitted. A part of her felt bad, but another part of her was busy straining her ears to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. They were sitting in a more secluded part of school ground and unless someone hid in the nearby greenery Makoto would see the approaching people before they came within hearing range (provided she didn’t get distracted).

Jin’s face dropped.

“Right. Of course. You wouldn’t,” he said and Makoto realized that he seemed to have gotten smaller, like a balloon from which air had started escaping.

“Um, then maybe you could tell me!” she said, trying to sound cheerful. “How was he like before! I remember those photos I’ve seen of your childhood days. He really did look like a dependable brother back then!” 

Makoto’s wide smile wasn’t completely sincere, but Jin seemed to lighten up in response.

“Ah yes, he was a dependable older brother. I was rather frail when I was little, so I would often feel scared, but he always looked after us. When he was there, it was like nothing wrong could happen,” Jin explained and for a moment his face was relaxed and happy. However, he quickly returned to the present. “Well, at least that was when we were younger. After our parents got divorced we got separated. We only meet again in the middle school,” Jin explained.

“One of your parents was a part of Kisaragi family?” Makoto asked. While Makoto knew some things about Jin’s life as a Kisaragi, everything that happened before was shrouded in mystery.

“Mother was distantly related. She basically dropped me off at their place and then disappeared. I have no idea where she went to, I have not seen her since then.”

Makoto winced. She didn’t know what bothered her more. The fact that Jin’s mother acted like the worst mother ever, or the fact that Jin didn’t even seem to miss her. However, something else bugged her.

“Wait, so you have gone with your mother, then does that mean that Ragna and your sister were taken by your father?”

Jin tensed after hearing the question. For a moment he looked around as though he was afraid someone was eavesdropping. However, there was not a soul in the vicinity and after a pause he finally answered.

“No, father only managed to get custody over Nii-san. It was mother who took our sister,” there was a clear dislike in his voice, “but I have no idea what happened to her.”

“Ah, I remember now. So, this was why when you meet for the first time Ragna kept shouting at you “Where is Saya?” in this really scary voice,” Makoto said with a newfound understanding.

Jin winced slightly.

“Yes, he believed I knew something, but I had not seen her since, nor had any inclination to find her whereabouts.”

“She’s not a part of Duodecim like you?” Makoto asked, just to be sure.

“I believe Tsubaki told you, but aside from her and me there are no other people of similar age in Duodecim. Obviously, this does not take into account the branch families affiliated with them, but if I had ever seen her I would have recognized her immediately,” Jin explained.

“Uh, so unless they had hidden her, she isn’t there,” Makoto muttered. She knew she was side-tracking but there was something bothering her about Saya. It may have been because the girl looked so eerily similar to Noel. But it didn’t seem Noel was Saya. Neither of the brothers recognized her as their sister after all.

“Could we please stop talking about her?” Jin asked, stopping Makoto’s train of thoughts.

“Ups, sorry. I guess I was just curious, because she reminds me of Noel,” the squirrel girl admitted.

“However similar she may be, it is not Noel,” Jin said angrily, confirming Makoto’s suspicions.

“Yeah, I mean, she also never mentioned having any siblings. It was just a stupid thought,” Makoto said.

Jin huffed, as he returned to eating. Makoto realized that they have gotten off-topic and quickly tried to think how to return to it.

“You guys didn’t live here, right?” she asked.

Jin raised his brows.

“As children? No, I don’t think so. I believe we lived in a different city, but I’m not sure which one was it. I was seven when our parents got divorced, so it is not as if I remember too much.”

“But you just told me a lot about Ragna!” Makoto complained in a not serious tone of voice.

Jin looked at her suspiciously, but then seemed to ease up.

“I remember people, rather than places. People who were close. I don’t even remember our parents too much,” he admitted.

“How can you not remember your parents?” Makoto blurted out. His story felt weird and uncomfortable and Makoto just couldn’t understand the family dynamics he presented.

Jin scoffed and there was a derisive smile on his face.

“It’s not as if they spent too much time with us,” Jin said. “They mostly left us with a babysitter they hired. I doubt they even loved us.”

Okay, so apparently, Jin’s family was dysfunctional even before Kisaragi’s happened. It was close to miracle he even had any sort of happy childhood memories.

“So, this is why you were so attached to Ragna?” she asked, deciding to get back to topic. The more she heard about Jin’s parents the more depressing it felt.

Jin hesitated for moment, but then nodded.

“Sometimes it felt as if we had no one other than ourselves in the world,” he admitted with a sigh.

Makoto realized that it was it. A perfect chance she was waiting for. Jin had never been so sincere about his past and probably wouldn’t be again. However, at the same time Makoto felt that if she screws up, she may never get a chance to talk with Jin about his past again.

_What are you going to do, Makoto?_

But there was only one answer and the girl asked the question that has been puzzling her for the last two years.

“You know, I wanted to ask, for quite some time actually… why does Ragna hate you now?”

*

“It’s a foolish story. From the time when I was younger. Only slightly older than ya’re now,” Jubei started. Ragna didn’t try to interrupt him. Jubei never talked about his past and it was highly unusual for him to suddenly open up like that. The youth realized it must be really important, so he decided to keep quiet.

“I might’ve mentioned it at some point. I used to ‘ve a brother. A younger one. He was a foolish brother, that one. Once he set his mind to something he would do it no matter what. Still we got along. Most of the time at least. When ya have a stupid younger brother sometimes ya just have to punch him in the face,” Jubei added thoughtfully.

“I totally understand,” Ragna assured him.

“Ya’re the one who needs a responsible sibling!” Jubei deadpanned, but after that continued his story. “Anyway, at that time we were both young. We wanted to change the world. Make it better. We didn’t have much ‘side from our sword skills and attitude, but we found people who needed beastkins just like us. It made us happy. They didn’t try to use or deceive us. They wanted the same thing as us, but had a better idea of how to achieve it, so they shared their knowledge with us. We became part of something bigger,” Jubei said and his eyes were shining as he remembered. Ragna felt a pang of jealousy seeing that, but said nothing. “However, we were nothing more than brawns. We were not meant to act on ‘ar own. We were sent when and where needed to do what ordered.”

“You seemed to have a pretty short end of the stick in this,” Ragna pointed out.

Jubei made a frustrated noise.

“Honestly, it’s because ya have so few people close to ya. It was all about _trust_!”

“Trust?” Ragna cocked his head to the side.

“We trusted each other! They trusted we will get the job done and in return they trusted us enough to tell us who and for what reason we were fighting!”

“Wait a moment. Does that mean you were in some sort of gang?” Ragna asked suspiciously.

Jubei made a thoughtful pause.

“I think it qualifies more as a secret organization,” he muttered thoughtfully. “I can’t tell ya anything more ‘bout them. Still obliged to secrecy,” he explained. “But coming back. Well, you comment might not ‘ve been far off. While I continued to trust into those in charge my little brother at some point started to doubt ‘em. Not their intentions, he knew, as well as I, that we all had the same goal. What he doubted were some of their decisions. As I mentioned it was a two-way street. We did stuff, but in return we got feed information. And my brother figured he would disobey our superiors and stop the threat on his own,” Jubei paused once more. There was a regret clear in his voice. “I found out what he was trying to do and attempted to stop him. But I went too easy on ‘im, because he was my little brother. In the end he escaped and executed his plan.”

“Did he succeed?” Ragna asked, curiosity clear in his voice.

Jubei shook his head in denial.

“When we got there we found is dead body. We… couldn’t ascertain whether he was successful or not,” he explained, but Ragna felt he might have been omitting something. However, there was a clear sadness in his expression that stopped Ragna from asking further questions. “Ever since then I regretted not stopping him.”

A tense silence descended upon them. Ragna felt he should probably say something, but had no idea what would be an appropriate response and it felt as if Jubei wasn’t finished with his story.

“I’m telling ya this fer a reason Ragna. Ya see, I don’t want ya to make the same mistake as I did,” Jubei explained as he looked straight at Ragna.

“What are you talking about?” the boy asked, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

“Ya’re still young. Ya should take better care of yer brother. I don’t want ya to know what it’s like to lose yer little brother,” Jubei admitted straightforwardly. It was such an honest admission that for a moment Ragna had no idea how to react.

“My brother is fine!” He finally said, trying to push away the strange feeling of uneasy that settled in his stomach ever since he heard the story. “He’s not dying!”

“How do ya know? Are ya watching him carefully?” Jubei inquired, as he looked at the youth sharply.

“I… yes… no…” Ragna tried to answer, but his response was jumbled under the beastikn’s stare.

“Ragna, if I realized my brother’s doubts earlier and talked with ‘im I might ’ve stopped ‘im. Or if I did everything I could not to allow ‘im to go and attack that person.” (Hearing that Ragna decided that yes, Jubei definitely used to be a part of a gang.) “I just don’t want ya to shoulder such regrets. Ya don’t want to know how it’s like to find ya brother dead.”

Something clicked at those words. Suddenly, Ragna slammed his hand into the coffee table. The cups jumped slightly due to that.

“My brother,” Ragna said through clenched teeth. “Has been dead to me for the past ten years. Why should I care about his well-being?!”

Ragna’s angry stare meet Jubei’s steady gaze. For a moment their eyes were locked, but then Ragna looked away.

“This is stupid,” he said loudly, as if to distract himself.

“Is it?”

*

When he heard the question Jin immediately tensed. For a split second there was a painful expression on his face, before it changed into a scowl. He rose up.

“I’m not answering that question,” he proclaimed without even facing into Makoto’s direction.

“Oy, wait a moment, I…”

“This conversation is finished,” he said strongly. “Since you are done eating let’s finish our work.”

“But what about…” Makoto’s question died as Jin threw his unfinished sandwich into the nearby bin.

_Great job, Makoto. You upset him to the point of losing appetite. You pressed him too much._

Jin was already moving towards the back of the school, so Makoto quickly dumped her trash into bin and followed him.

“Wait! J… Ragna!” she bit herself into tongue, as she called after him. There was no answer. Jin continued to move forward without waiting for her. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you…”

Still no reply. Makoto started running trying to catch up to him.

“I said, wait!” she shouted. She finally caught up to him, as they reached the space behind the school. She grabbed his wrist and pulled Jin in her direction. “Don’t run from me…”

The words died on her lips. Jin had an unfocused gaze. He didn’t even look all that angry.

He looked broken.

Well, shit.

“Jin,” she muttered quietly. There was no one behind the school and most of students who stayed due to their club activities also left at this point, so there was a very low chance of anyone coming here.

The boy was still quiet, so Makoto decided there was only right thing to do. She was holding the urge back, ever since their earlier conversation, but now decided to act on it. She pulled Jin’s hand stronger, he slightly stumbled forward and Makoto embraced him.

Jin felt tense in her arms. It also didn’t help that Ragna was tall, so Makoto couldn’t hug him as effectively, as she would if he was in his right body. But Jin desperately needed a hug, so Makoto would provide one.

“Look Jin, I’m sorry you had to go through all this crap,” she said softly. Jin was still quiet. Makoto couldn’t see his expression anymore, since she was hugging him tightly and she would have to twist her head uncomfortably to see his face. “That you _still_ have to go through crap. I hate to see you hurt like that.” More silence, but Makoto didn’t expect answer anymore. “You said it yourself before, I’m a nosy person who looks after those close to me. And I _can’t_ ignore how this whole situation is hurting you. I might not be able to help, but doing nothing is unbearable. I want you and Ragna to get along,” she explained strongly. Jin was still leaning on her, like a marionette whose strings had been cut. “So please, Jin, tell me what happened. I can’t do anything if I don’t know what happened between you two!” Her voice was desperate at this point. She was feeling more and more like crying, but she suppressed that impulse. Still, Jin could probably hear the grief in her voice, because he finally straightened himself. He gently broke the hug and looked at Makoto. There was something incredibly lonely in his gaze.

“Thank you, Makoto,” he said, his voice faint. She could hear the words clearly, but it was as if their source was far, far away, out of her reach. “However, I can’t tell you anything.”

Makoto felt the tears raising to her eyes again. She tried to push them away, as she stared at Jin. He took a breath as though he wanted to say something more, but then his eyes widened in surprise and he turned around.

“Who’s there!” He shouted, as he looked suspiciously at the shed. There was a silence and then a figure emerged from it.

“Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I was just leaving some stuff and then I heard voices and when I saw you it seemed like a bad idea to go out. I didn’t want to accidentally bother our infamous transfer student, while he was having a moment…” the janitor began explaining awkwardly.

Makoto felt herself blushing, but didn’t try to deny his words for now. She would probably achieve the opposite effect if she tried.

“Is it your hobby to spy on student’s like that? I recall a similar situation,” Jin said as he narrowed his eyes. Makoto realized that Jin’s acting was slipping, so she decided to step in.

“That’s right, what kind of pervert are you!” she said, as she glared at him. Kazuma took a step back.

“Give me a break! It’s not as if I could hear the sweet nothings you were whispering to each other from this distance!” He waved his hands defensively.

Makoto quickly ascertained the distance. Indeed, he should not have been able to hear their conversation, since they both talked quietly. Still, Makoto felt frustrated that an intruder interrupted them and judging by the scowl on Jin’s face, so did he.

“Scram, you piece of shit,” the youth growled. “And if I catch you eavesdropping next time I will carve you like a turkey.”

The janitor yelped and quickly retreated. Makoto made a sigh.

“That was nice acting,” she admitted. For a moment she really thought it was Ragna who said it.

“That was rude,” Jin said derisively, as he glared in the direction of janitor’s escape. Then he made a sigh and his voice returned to a more neutral tone. “Makoto, let me explain my previous statement. The thing is that if you want to know what happened ten years ago, then you should ask Nii-san, not me.”

“I don’t think I follow your line of logic,” Makoto said, as she raised her brow. “You were also involved in it.”

“You should hear his account first. I don’t want to talk about those events without his agreement. Also, your original question why _he_ hates me, and he should answer this question far better than me,” Jin explained everything in his neutral voice, but Makoto could feel that Jin was hiding something. For a moment, she thought about pressing Jin more, but she decided she had already pressed her luck way too much today.

“Fine!” she said more aggressively than she intended to. “But after I drag the truth out of him, I want to hear your side of story!”

A strange expression flicked across Jin’s face, but Makoto couldn’t read it.

“If you wish so,” he replied non-committedly. “However, I believe it would be better for you not to dabble in the past. Your curiosity may kill you,” Jin pointed out seriously.

 

“Curiosity killed the cat. Squirrels are more resilient than that!” Makoto retorted with a wink. “Plus, your grumpy brother may turn out to be much more talkative than you think.”

Jin sighed.

“Just don’t do anything stupid. This is a sensitive topic for him.”

“Yes, mom.”

Jin shot her an unamusing look and Makoto grinned.

“Don’t worry, it will be fine, trust me!”

“Somehow I doubt it. Also, I hope you have not forgotten, but we still have measurements to do.”

Makoto’s smile immediately dropped. She could swear Jin smirked slightly when he saw that.

*

“Well, I’m not going to force anything on ya,” Jubei said as he rose up to fetch more tea. Ragna just stared angrily into his cup. “This is yer life. Ya’re old enough to decide for yaself.”

“Then why did you have me listen to that story?!”

“Because I wanted to give ya an advice. Whether ya act on it is up to ya,” Jubei shouted from the kitchen.

“This is idiotic, it’s not as if Jin’s life is in danger!” Ragna pointed out.

There was no answer, only the sound of boiling water coming from kitchen. The lack of confirmation once more made Ragna feel uncertain.

“It isn’t in danger, right?” the youth repeated his statement really hoping for an answer.

“It’s yer brother, not mine. Ya should know whether he’s okay or not,” Jubei answered as he brought new teacups from the kitchen and then moved back to bring hot water.

“It’s not like I’m close to him. I _don’t want_ to be close to him,” Ragna said.

“Ya’re really stubborn.”

“It’s only natural after what he did!” Ragna pointed out.

“Are ya never gonna forgive ‘im?” Jubei asked, as if he hoped that the youth would change his mind.

“For what he did to me and Saya? _Never!_ ” Ragna answered, his voice vicious. At this point he wasn’t looking at Jubei. Before his eyes the memories from ten years ago once more replayed itself. He sighed, forcefully pushing them away. “I have to go. My new loving family is waiting.”

_With a doctor appointment, because they think I’m a psycho._

“Good luck, Ragna. Please, think about what I said.”

Ragna made some vague answer and then left.

*

The appointment hadn’t gone as horribly wrong, as it could have. Ragna suspected Jubei’s tea really might have been calming. The Kisaragi’s physician couldn’t find anything really wrong with the youth aside from obvious signs of stress. Ragna received some pills for that.

Later that day, as he was lying on the bed, thinking about how to best dispose of the pills, his mobile started ringing.

Well, not exactly his mobile, but Jin’s. However, because right now he was Jin, the mobile was his. With a sigh, Ragna looked at the caller id. The phone displayed name “Makoto Nanaya”.

Great, Squirrel.

“What do you want?” he asked, as he confirmed the call. He decided to check what she wanted, in case it was something important.

“Good evening to you too, Mister Sunshine. I need to talk to you. Privately. When are you free?” Despite Makoto’s sarcasm at the beginning she was using a no-nonsense voice. That drew Ragna’s attention.

“Is it something important?”

“Yes.”

“Is it about Jin?” Ragna asked, an uncomfortable feeling once more squeezing his stomach.

“Also.”

Ragna hesitated. Knowing Makoto, she could be setting a meeting simply to get some useless Jin trivia out of him. However, a part of him, incorrigible doting brother part of him, was sick with worry. After today’s conversation with Jubei Ragna couldn’t help dreading that something could happen to Jin.

“Okay, I should be able to meet you tomorrow after school. Come to my house. Jubei’s house, I mean. Is Jin also going to take part in this conversation?”

“No, this is going to be between you and me. I will rope him into helping with festival preparations after school, so he won’t bother us.”

“I see.”

“See you tomorrow,” with that Makoto disconnected.

Ragna stared at his phone.

_It seems I got dragged into something troublesome._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna finally tells his side of the story of what happened ten years ago. Makoto regrets ever considering that the whole thing was going to be easy.


	20. Ten Years Ago - Betrayed Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't noticed I fianlly uploaded a valentine special, which may or may not get a second chapter in the future. Not the nearest future though. My life is hectic, as I just finished moving into a new place and I'm in the process of searching for a job. Fun times. I still haven't gotten to Chronophantasma, but it's only a matter of time now. Instead, I replied Calamity Trigger, so I don't feel anymore like I'm writing without remembering much of the canon. So, that's good.
> 
> Anyway, here is the long awaited story of what happened ten years ago! Or at least one account of it. Speculation can now begin in earnest!
> 
> A moment of silence for Makoto's belief that the whole situation could be easily solved.

True to her word, the next day, Makoto managed to push another tedious festival-oriented chore onto Jin. There was surprisingly little protest on his part. That made Ragna suspect that he was aware of Makoto’s scheme.

Ragna decided it may be a good idea to test waters, before he meet Squirrel.

*

“So the meeting with physician went well?”

“Yeah, the only thing they found on me was stress. They gave me some pills for that,” Ragna explained. He and Jin were sitting in one of dead end corridors. They talked quietly to make sure no one would accidentally hear them. The classes already ended, so the school was mostly empty.

“Just make sure not to take them,” Jin said. “I suggest getting rid of them slowly, so no one is suspicious that all of them suddenly disappeared.”

“I figured that much out. Anyway, it seems the coast is clear for now.”

“Don’t let your guard down. They may strike when you least expect it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, there is one thing I want to ask,” Ragna said, deciding to change topic.

“What is it?” Jin asked, obviously expecting another Kisaragi-related question.

“Do you know what Makoto is up to?” Ragna asked, closely studying his brother.

Jin narrowed his brows.

“Since she already contacted you, she certainly doesn’t waste time,” Jin muttered more to himself, than to Ragna. “Please, remind me to get back at her for making me do equipment check which will take at least a week, while she only needed to have me working today.”

“So you know something,” the older brother said, ignoring the joke. Jin shrugged in response. It seemed slightly more offensive than usual, since he used Ragna’s shoulders to shrug.

“There’s no point in me saying anything. You will find what Makoto wants soon enough,” Jin said turning his head, so that he wouldn’t look at Ragna.

“Oy,” Ragna in his annoyance grabbed Jin’s collar and pulled him closer. “Don’t mess with me. You two are conspiring something.”

Jin seemed surprised by that accusation, but then sighed.

“The only thing you need to know is that what Makoto is doing right now is her own initiative. She approached me yesterday, but I refused to indulge her. I leave the decision up to you,” after announcing that, he squeezed Ragna’s hand, so he would let go of his collar. Ragna reluctantly released his grip. Jin was stronger than him right now and there would be no merit in getting into fight with him over Makoto’s suspicious plans.

Then he frowned, as he processed Jin’s words.

“What decision?”

“Whether to tell her what she wants to know or not,” Jin said, as he left towards the student council room.

Ragna looked at his hand, then curled it into a fist.

“I really got dragged into something annoying, didn’t I?”

*

Makoto was already waiting for him inside the house. She must have talked with Jubei, because he disappeared right after serving them tea.

Ragna sighed into his cup and set it aside.

“Okay, let’s get to it. What do you want from me?” Ragna asked, as he tried to get comfortable.

“Don’t say it like that. I wasn’t planning on beating around the bush,” Makoto said, smiling slightly. “Too much”

“Don’t even try to pretend you have no ulterior motives. Let’s get this over with,” Ragna replied annoyed.

“Fine. There is something that has been bothering me for a long time and I need to know. Why do you hate Jin?”

Ragna gave her a surprised look, but then realized this question did fit Squirrel’s curious nature.

“Because he’s a traitorous sociopathic jerk, who is stalking me and you already know that. I don’t know why you are asking.”

Makoto made a disappointed sigh.

“You know this isn’t what I’m asking about,” she pointed out.

“Oh?” Ragna straightened himself slightly. “Then what is it that you are asking about?”

“Why did you start hating him? What happened ten years ago?” Makoto said, as she spread her arms.

Ragna scowled. It was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“You can ask Jin if you want to know,” he pointed out, trying to avoid answering the question. “You are going to take his side, anyway.”

“He said, he would tell me what happened only if you told me first,” Makoto countered.

Suddenly, the whole conversation Ragna had with Jin after classes made perfect sense. His stupid brother for once decided to actually honour his wishes, but of course this only resulted in Makoto coming straight to Ragna to pester him.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the youth said, deciding to be frank.

“Neither of you does, but Ragna,” Makoto’s voice suddenly became way too friendly for his liking, “you can’t solve problems by not talking about them.”

Ragna was silent for a second and then started laughing derisively.

“Wait, what’s with that reaction?” Makoto was for once flabbergasted.

“That’s the most stupid thing I ever heard,” Ragna said as he calmed down. “You are making one very wrong assumption Squirrel.”

“What assumption?”

“You clearly think it’s a problem that _can be solved_. You must be thinking that there is some way to fix what happened and then me and Jin will return to being nice towards each other,” Ragna explained unamused.

“I would settle for _civil_ ,” Makoto admitted. “Like, not trying to beat shit out of each other on daily basis.”

Ragna raised his brows, but didn’t comment on it.

“Anyway, what Jin did back then was unforgivable and I’m not going to _ever_ forgive him,” Ragna said decisively. “I don’t see a point in talking about what he did. You will be probably happier not knowing anyway.”

Makoto slammed her hand on table. The tea she had completely forgotten about jumped with a clatter.

“I’ve already seen how horrible he can be!” Makoto pointed out annoyed. Ragna’s confidence was grating on her nerves. “In case you haven’t noticed I have been his friend for four years now! I know he is a jerk! Whatever he did I am ready to know!”

Ragna smirked and Makoto felt a chill. She knew that kind of smirk. It was _I know something you do not and I’m about to show you how ignorant you are_ type of smirk. She almost gulped.

“Well, if you are so sure of it, then I guess I might tell you. I hate talking about that… incident. But since you want to date that psycho you should probably know what you are getting into,” Ragna mused with a wicked grin.

Maybe she was better off not knowing, after all...

“It was about ten years ago. I think it was autumn. Or earlier. Not important. Anyway, as always the three of us were at home with our babysitter. Well, I say babysitter, but she spent more time with us than our mother. I was more attached to her than to our parents, really. They were almost never home.”

Makoto listened silently. For now, what he was saying matched what Jin told her about their family’s situation.

“We even called her Aunt, because she felt like a family. Anyway, on that day Saya was ill. Well, she had been for a long time. I think it was more than two weeks that she was like that. She was lying in bed all the time and she was so tired, it was hard for her to even talk. I kept looking after her. I was really worried, because she didn’t seem to be getting better.”

“What kind of illness was it?” Makoto asked curiously. She returned to drinking her tea while Ragna was telling the story.

“I have no idea,” Ragna admitted. “I was nine years old at that time and adults didn’t tell me anything about her illness. It seems they also had no idea what was plaguing her, since in the first week they were taking her to a lot of different doctors. I only know that she had high fever and was very weak. I spent most of the time next to her. That… Jin didn’t like that.”

“Eh?” Makoto only made a surprised sound since she was busy chewing one of the cookies Jubei left for them.

“When he was little Jin was… extremely clingy. He spent most of his time following me and trying to get my attention. Usually it wasn’t too bad. He was always a bit jealous of Saya, but aside from their quarrelling things were manageable. There would be some pouting and times when I had to mediate, but otherwise they did get along. Even if Jin did view Saya as a sort of rival for my affection,” Ragna explained with a sigh.

“Being a big brother is really harsh.”

“You have no idea! Imagine two little brats looking at you pleadingly and asking with which of them I’m going to go. Those were the hardest decisions in my life!” Ragan almost shouted, but there was a clear fondness in his voice. Makoto thought that it would be nice, if he acted like that more often. There was something really likeable about Ragna in his “doting brother” mode. “However, Saya’s illness made things turn for worse.” His voice dropped as he said that, all the happiness fleeting from it.

“How so?”

“I spent that time looking over Saya. She was ill, she needed support. But Jin didn’t take it so kindly. I barely had time for him and it started to get to him. He was even more disagreeable that usually. At one point he even started badmouthing Saya. I punched him then. Damn, he was seven at that time. He should have been able to take care of himself!”

“Uh, so this is your angsty backstory you have been agonizing about for the past ten years?” Makoto asked, because it sounded ridiculous.

“Of course not!” Ragna shouted. “I’m only getting to it. Hell, I’m only saying that so you know why Jin would consider harming Saya.”

“W-wait a moment? Harming?” Makoto asked, as she almost chocked on cookie.

“I’m getting to it,” Ragna assured her. “So that was the situation. It was another day with me being worried about my sister, my sister being ill, Jin sulking like there was no tomorrow and Aunt trying to lighten the mood. Not exactly the best day in our lives. It was evening. Our parents were only supposed to return in the morning. Some sort of business trip, I think. Anyway, at some point Aunt said that there was something wrong and left to check. When we heard her scream we became scared. Jin grabbed the sword. And then I remember him lunging at Saya. I tried to block his path and he pierced my shoulder. It hurt as hell. I ended up falling and passed out. When I came to it, they were taking me to ambulance.”

As Ragna finished telling his story he looked at Makoto. Her jaw was hanging wide open.

“Hold on a moment! That was too fast! Rewind!” She shouted, when she finally comprehended what happened. “Jin tried to kill his sister?!”

“Yes, with sword,” Ragna confirmed surprisingly calmly.

“Are you sure about that? Maybe you misunderstood the situation,” Makoto suggested, disbelief visible on her face.

“He was shouting he would kill her and something about not forgiving her. I don’t remember exactly, but he was clearly charging at her.”

Makoto wrinkled her brow.

“Charging?” she finally asked. “Why would he charge at someone who was lying?”

“Saya was standing at that time. I jumped between them,” Ragna explained.

Makoto looked at him even more puzzled.

“Why was she standing? You said she was very ill,” Makoto inquired, as she tapped the surface of table with her finger.

Ragna winced slightly.

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?” Makoto tilted her head.

“I hit my head when I fell down and spent the night slowly bleeding on carpet! Doctor said it wasn’t surprising I didn’t remember everything,” he admitted angrily, as he looked away.

“Uh, but then you may remember things wrong,” Makoto pointed out.

“I don’t!” Ragna interrupted her. “It’s true I don’t remember… some parts, but I clearly remember Jin charging at me… I mean, Saya with a sword. That memory is crystal clear.”

Makoto winced. Then she thought about what she had heard.

“Oh, what about your Aunt? You said she screamed and then you said you spent whole night bleeding,” she pointed out.

Ragna’s face fell.

“She was killed. It seems someone broke into the house and murdered her.”

“Seems? You don’t remember the intruder?” Makoto pressed. This seemed like an important part of the story.

“No, I don’t remember anyone. And this is the reason why nobody ever believed me when I said it was Jin who cut me! Everyone just assumed that it was that murderer and I just remembered it wrong due to shock!” Ragna explained, his voice full of annoyance. “I told them it was definitely Jin, who lunged at me and they all said that it was impossible. That Jin couldn’t wield such a huge sword. Hell, there were his prints on the weapon, but they ignored them because it was his sword.”

“His sword?”

“You must have seen it at least once. That long sword he uses,” Ragna said. “He already had it back then. He couldn’t wield it, but he liked to hold it. He was proud of it.”

Makoto remembered. Indeed, Jin rarely used it, since it was a real sword, but Makoto had seen it. It seemed to be a prized possession. She imagined a small Jin holding it and then paused.

“Ugh, Ragna. I really don’t think a wimpy seven year old would be able to use this sword,” the girl pointed out, as she remembered the photos of young Jin.

Ragna scowled at her, but he had no argument against her claim. He even admitted himself that little Jin was unable to use the sword.

“I told you you would take his side!” Ragna grumbled unhappily.

“Oh, wait, it’s not that. It’s just… can I ask a few more questions?”

“What questions?” Ragna glanced at her, while pouting.

“Did they catch that intruder who killed your Aunt?” Makoto asked.

“No, and nobody seen him from what I know.”

“Did he steal something?”

Ragna frowned.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Was your Aunt killed using Jin’s sword?”

“No, I heard she was killed using some sort of short blade. It definitely wasn’t a katana.”

Makoto looked at Ragna with expression of someone who doesn’t know what to think.

“Okay, last question. Saya was still alive at the end of it?”

“Yes. I haven’t seen her ever since the incident, but I heard she was taken to a different hospital. Everyone talked about her as though she was alive. Mom got legal custody over her, I doubt she would get a custody over a corpse. The only one who died in that incident was Aunt.”

Makoto was quiet for a moment.

“So, this is all?” she asked to make sure.  
“Yep,” Ragna confirmed. “I think this is all I know.”

“Right. Let me be frank,” Makoto paused and then said seriously. “This whole story makes absolutely no sense.”

“Wait, wh…” Ragna started, but Makoto interrupted him.

“Let me finish! What I’m saying is, there is something extremely fishy about this incident. Several things make no sense at all!”

Ragna looked at her unamused.

“I don’t want to rain on your parade, but everyone noticed that this incident was weird. Hell, even I knew that when I was nine. They couldn’t find any lead on the guy who killed Aunt or figure out why he killed her.”

Makoto looked thoughtfully at the ceiling.

“She had no enemies?”

“She was the nicest person I meet in my whole life,” Ragna pointed out. “She was a babysitter, she had a patience of a saint and firmly believed that people should get along.”

“So the killer was a psycho?” Makoto wondered loudly, as she played with a spoon. “Wait, a minute. What you said just know… we know that person was male?”

“Seems like it. One of the neighbours later said they heard a loud male voice, though it could have been my scream. I think I shouted rather loudly when Jin’s sword pierced my shoulder,” seeing Makoto’s raised brow he added. “I don’t remember exactly, I was busy bleeding and feeling excruciating pain and probably lost consciousness soon after. Anyway, the police assumed that it was probably the voice of the murderer, though.”

“I see,” Makoto paused. She realized that this was probably all she was going to learn about the incident from Ragna. However, there was still one thing she needed to ask.

“Ummm…” she started, but her words failed her for a moment. She took a deep breath, while Ragna watched her expectantly. “What did Jin say?” She finally asked. When Ragna gave her a questioning stare she elaborated. “After the incident. What did he say about it?”

Ragna’s eyes narrowed and Makoto realized Ragna was trying to remember something. She waited patiently. Finally, Ragna sighed.

“Nothing,” he answered. “From what I was told some time later the incident the police came after receiving the call from the neighbour who heard screams. When they came Celica was dead and the rest of us unconscious. They called the ambulance. I think our parents returned around this time as well. Anyway, they managed to awaken me and Jin. When I saw him I got to him and shouted at him about what he had done. He said nothing back then. Or to be more precise said nothing before I fainted again. You know, from the blood loss. After that I was moved to a different hospital than him. Probably because our parents were worried what I would do to him,” Ragna waved his hand nonchalantly, as if violent response wasn’t anything weird in this circumstances. “I haven’t seen Jin until we meet in the middle school. When we did I asked if he had anything to say for himself. He didn’t.”

There was a heavy silence after Ragna’s words. Makoto gulped.

“So… so he never told you _his_ part of the story,” she pointed out with a slight hope.

“No,” Ragna answered coolly. Makoto sighed, but Ragna hasn’t finished speaking. “However, I wouldn’t be too hopeful if I were you. If he had any sort of sane reason to try and murder my sister I think he would have mentioned it by now,” the youth explained.

“But maybe he wasn’t the one to hurt you after all. You might be remembering it wrong after all,” Makoto argued desperately. Ragna looked as if he was about to lash at her, but then he stopped.

“Look,” he said, forcing himself to speak calmly. “I know this might be hard to accept since you… you like Jin, but this is how things stand.” Makoto was about to say something again, but Ragna raised his hand, stopping her. “And sure, I might be remembering something wrong and Jin might be innocent, but that doesn’t explain him.”

“What do you mean?” Makoto asked, while having a really bad feeling.

Ragna looked straight at her, as he revealed the last piece of evidence.

“Exactly what I told you earlier. Jin have never said anything about the incident. Which means he haven’t even once denied that he tried to kill Saya. And I can assure you I threw this accusation in his face a number of times in the middle school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Makoto continues her search for truth, as more uncomfortable facts come to light. Jin reveals his side of story about the tragic happenings ten years ago.


	21. Ten Years Ago - The Lost Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First art block and now struggles of an working adult. If you want to know how the work on this fic is going then well, it isn't going at all. I got effectively stuck at one point and can't figure out how to move forward. However, I also feel bad for leaving you with no updates, which is why I'm updating a chapter form my backlog. Yeah, this is exactly why I do backlogs. I knew I would get completely stuck someday like that. It's doubly annoying, because I can finally see the end in sight. I should be able to finish with this arc in less than 10 chapters if everything goes as planned, since I decided to rush things until I reach school festival.
> 
> For now, however, enjoy the human trainwreck, Jin Kisaragi. And Makoto, who finally figures things out.

“We need to talk Jin,” Makoto announced, as she ambushed the boy after the classes on Thursday. Together with Mai she spent the previous day looking through old newspapers trying to find some more information, but it turned out Ragna’s story matched the reports they had found. While newspapers never mentioned the names of the siblings, and sometimes even completely ignored their presence at the crime scene, the murder of Celica Mercury was easy to find. The only thing that Ragna did not mention was the fact that Celica was apparently a sister of a famous researcher Konoe Mercury, known as “Nine”. Makoto even found some speculation that Celica’s death was actually an act of revenge against her sister. It was an interesting motive, but a purely theoretical one, as the police found no evidence proving it.

In the end, Makoto realized the only way to learn the truth was to hear it from the horse’s mouth. That scared her. As embarrassing as it was, a part of her wished to stall for time. She wanted to spend more time without having to confront Jin about whether or not he _really_ was a psychopath who tried to murder his own sister.

She felt weird, but Makoto realized she was starting to understand where Ragna’s issues were coming from. All this time she thought the insults he threw at Jin were more abstract and less literal. Except they weren’t. Apparently, Jin had even more horrible issues than Makoto thought and was merely _that good_ at hiding them.

Makoto wasn’t sure what to think. Part of her wanted to never meet Jin again. The darkness he was hiding was starting to scare her. It was deeper and bleaker than she imagined.

However, another part of Makoto was unable to let go. It was the part that pushed her to try and learn what happened between the brothers and now that she took the first step she was refusing to stop, before she reached her goal.

Which was why, she had gone to the school’s attic, where Jin was busy checking the equipment that could be used during the festival. Makoto had roped him into this task two days ago. Now it seemed like it was an eternity ago.

Jin didn’t say anything, when he heard her come. An uncomfortable silence settled in.

“Did you talk with Nii-san?” Jin asked slowly. His eyes seemed to shine in the dim light coming from an old lightbulb fixed to the ceiling. The attic was never a bright place. Since it was used as a storeroom, it wasn’t visited too often, and it never got a proper lighting installation.

“I did,” Makoto said, making sure that her voice didn’t waver. It still felt surreal that the person before her could seriously try to kill his sister. She knew he often got into violent fights with Ragna, but they never seemed lethal. 

Or were they?

“I talked with him and he told me what happened,” Makoto elaborated. For a moment a shadow of fear passed over Jin’s face, but it quickly disappeared.

“I see,” there was a hint of resignation in his voice.

“Anyway, now that I heard his side, it is time to hear yours,” Makoto said strongly, as she crossed her arms.

Jin averted his eyes.

“There isn’t really much to talk about. Ragna must have told you all there is to it,” he said, as he dusted an old CD Players.

Makoto narrowed her eyes. There was something weird about Jin’s sudden evasiveness.

“I won’t know until you tell me,” Makoto pointed out stubbornly. “Ragna admitted that you never told him your version, so I won’t know if that’s the case until you actually tell me.”

Jin casted his eyes downwards as he stopped removing dust from the CD player.

“Do you really believe it wasn’t me?” he asked. His voice felt fragile, but also to some extent desperate.

Makoto paused. She looked at Jin and despite the fact that he was in his brother’s body and was more than a head taller than Makoto, he seemed small and lost. She took a breath.

“I-I don’t know,” Makoto admitted, her voice didn’t sound as strong as she wished it to, but she continued. “However, I already decided that I want to know the truth. So please, tell me.”

Jin was still standing in the place and Makoto could see that he was thinking.

Finally, he spoke.

“Fine. Help me with checking things and we can go to Jubei and… discuss this,” Jin decided. His voice was stable again. Makoto made a hopeful smile at him, feeling her spirit return.

“Alright, then let’s check this junk!” she exclaimed cheerfully.

*

Two hours later the two of them arrived at Jubei’s place. Makoto still had some spider webs stuck in her tail and she knew she would have to take a long shower later to get rid of all the dust that got stuck in her fur and hair. 

They quickly ate a dinner that Jubei had prepared and then moved to Ragna’s room. Makoto looked around it nervously, checking for signs of change, now that it was Jin living in it, but aside from cleanliness, a stack of documents pertaining student council and the fact that game console started to show the signs of disuse, there didn’t seem to be much change.

Except for one thing. Makoto would probably overlook it, if the item wasn’t mentioned in Ragna’s story of what happened ten years ago. Makoto slowly crouched next to the long katana that was propped over the desk.

“That sword… it’s…?”

Jin nodded.

“Yukianesa, the sword which was used to slash Nii-san ten years ago,” he confirmed. Makoto took a better look at it.

“No, I still can’t imagine you using it when you were a child,” Makoto muttered. “Are they sure it was this sword that hit Ragna?”

“Yes, his blood was on the blade, plus he remembers being struck with it.”

Makoto narrowed her eyes and then raised the sword slightly, testing its weight.

“Nope, can’t see the seven-years old you committing crime with this thing,” Makoto said, as she put the sword down. “You would fall down if you tried to walk while holding it in the air.”

Jin said nothing in response. Makoto’s confidence somehow deflated, when she realized what this possibly meant. As she stared at the sword, something occurred to her. 

“Jin, why is your sword here?” the squirrel girl asked as she turned towards him.

The boy’s expression froze and Makoto immediately realized that he got stuck between a lie and a truth.

“Jin,” she repeated with more pressure.

“It… It was brought here together with us, when Jubei transported us from that factory we used as a battle st…” he admitted. The rest of sentence, however, was drowned out by Makoto’s disbelieving voice.

“Wait, you used _real_ swords?!” she asked, as she moved towards Jin and grasped him by the shoulders. It looked rather weird, since Ragna’s body was very tall, but Makoto’s steep grasp was nothing to scoff at. Jin was effectively trapped by her and forced to look straight at Makoto.

Some sort of resolve seemed to crumble inside of Jin.

“Yes,” he finally said in a resigned voice.

“Why? Whose stupid idea was it?” Makoto continued to ask, as she shook Jin.

“…mine.” Makoto’s face fell visibly and Jin looked uncomfortable at having to witness it. “I thought you would react like that.”

“No, no, no. Jin, be quiet for a moment,” Makoto said in a strained voice, as she used one of her hands to wave it through the air. “I think you just told me you did something so stupid that I’m not sure how to even react, because the sheer amount of disappointment is making me want to punch you, so unless you want me to do it, be quiet for a moment.”

Jin obediently stopped talking. He was now looking straight at Makoto waiting for her reaction. The girl meanwhile averted her gaze from Jin, because the resigned look in his eyes was starting to get to her. She was used to his sharp gaze. The worst though was the fact that there was no repentance in Jin’s eyes. Jin seemed unhappy that Makoto discovered the truth and Makoto could see that Jin was aware of implications of what he had done. However, despite that Jin didn’t seem to regret bringing a lethal weapon to a fight.

Makoto took a deep breath.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” she asked. Her voice was wavering, from the overabundance of emotions she was feeling. She kept her head down, still unable to look straight at Jin.

There was a silence. Makoto waited impatiently before her friend finally spoke.

“I have no idea.”

Makoto raised her head to direct a look of utter disbelief at Jin.

“You have no idea?” she repeated slowly.

Jin’s face was surprisingly calm as he nodded. Makoto was at loss of the words.

“You could have died,” she finally blurted, because it was the first thing that came to her mind.

Jin nodded.

“Ragna could have died,” she added. 

This time the nod came slower.

“Were you planning to get yourself killed?!” She shouted and her left hand clenched even harder into his shoulder. Jin winced slightly, but Makoto was too distressed to control herself.

The boy was silent as he shrugged.

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Makoto demanded. The whole situation seemed to just spiral out of her control.

“I have no idea what I wanted,” Jin explained and after a pause he added. “I don’t think I was thinking straight back then.”

 _Are you now?_ Makoto thought, but this question died on her lips. She always knew Jin was slightly unstable, but the extent of his brokenness was starting to make her hysterical.

Makoto once more took a calming breath. She needed to concentrate. She quickly listed her priorities in her mind. Unsurprisingly, Jin’s health and safety took priority over everything else. Well, that was probably the best place to start.

“Jin, listen up,” Makoto said slowly, as she looked straight at him. “I will only say it once. If you ever do a stupid suicidal stunt like that I will punch you so hard that you will literally fly through the air and you will be lucky if it takes you a week to wake up. Did I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Jin answered quickly. His voice was back to his neutral, business-like quality.

“Good, because this wasn’t a metaphor.”

“I think you meant a hyperbole,” Jin supplied.

“Smartass,” Makoto replied as she playfully punched him in the arm.

The atmosphere was lighter than a moment ago, though there was still a tension in the air. Jin sat in the chair, while Makoto bounced onto the edge of the bed. There was about a meter of distance between them.

“As much as I want to chew your ear off about what you had done I think you were already punished enough for your stupid escapade. Which is why I will let you off the hook for now. I still need to wrap my head around this,” Makoto moved her hands around her head to provide additional visual imagery. “I mean, seriously. I thought you used wooden swords as always.”

Jin only grunted in acknowledgement, as he maintained his neutral expression.

“Anyway, I came here to here _another_ story,” Makoto said strongly, but then her harsh expression fell and she continued in a much softer voice. “Listen Jin, I know it must be hard talking about the past but I wouldn’t go around opening old wounds if I didn’t believe you guys _need_ it. I know it must be unpleasant for you, but considering how much both of you suffer because of what happened in the past I can’t just pretend nothing is happening.”

Jin nodded.

“I understand. It’s just…” he paused for a moment. “I haven’t talked with anyone about this since the police questioned me.”

“Wait, so you told them your side of the story?” Makoto asked surprised.

“Of course,” Jin answered immediately, as if it was an obvious thing to do. 

Now that they were talking about the incident, Jin seemed much more relaxed than before they began.

“So tell me, what happened?” Makoto said. “What did you see that night.”

Jin was silent for a moment, before he steeled himself and finally said.

“Nothing,” his response was short and on point. There was a second of silence as Makoto waited for more, but then the realization of what she heard hit her.

“WHAT?!” Makoto could feel her mouth hanging open, as she looked at Jin.

He sighed, as he brushed his hair with his right hand.

“I remember nothing that transpired on that day ten years ago. Not just the moment of the incident. It’s as if the whole day was erased from my memory,” Jin explained with a troubled expression. Then he added quickly, “Please don’t tell Nii-san.”

The ridiculousness of the last sentence managed to bring Makoto back to reality.

“Jin, are you serious?” she asked, still in disbelief.

“Yes, I remember absolutely nothing. Trust me, I spent the last ten years trying to recall at least a scrap of memory from that night. I remember going to sleep the day before and the next thing I know, I wake up only to see bloodied Nii-san with a horrible wound on his right shoulder yanking me by my shirt with his left arm and shouting that it was all my fault and that I attempted to kill Saya and that this wound on his shoulder was my doing,” Jin described. He paused thoughtfully and then added. “That was the worst morning in my life.”

“No kidding,” Makoto said, wincing. This whole story was turning into a real nightmare. She pinched the bridge of her nose, as she tried to make sense of what she just heard. “Wait, so this is why you told me to go talk to Ragna?” she asked in a sudden understanding.

“Yes, I thought you should hear the story from him, since he actually remembers something. All I could give you would be a second-hand account,” Jin explained.

“Okay, that I get. But why haven’t you told him you don’t remember anything?” Makoto asked.

“Because it sounds like a cheap excuse,” Jin said immediately. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

Indeed, this would sound like a really bad excuse if he ever told it to Ragna. Makoto could imagine vividly just how angry Ragna would be if he heard something like during their meeting. She had believed their reunion couldn’t have been worse, but now she was forced to re-evaluate this belief.

“Wait, so you act as if you were the culprit simply because you don’t think Ragna would believe you if you said that you haven’t attacked Saya?”

Jin looked at her as if she didn’t understand something fundamental.

“Makoto,” he said softly, as if he was trying to break a horrible news, “look, just because I don’t remember what happened doesn’t mean that I didn’t attack Saya.”

It took the squirrel girl a moment to register.

“Oh my god… You _think_ you did it!” she shouted in disbelief. “Why? Because Ragna said so? He may remember it wrong!” 

“At least he _remembers_ something. Apparently, human’s brain can block some of the traumatic memories. It is entirely possible that I was so shocked I stabbed Nii-san instead of Saya, that I subconsciously erased those memories,” he explained in an eerily factual tone.

Makoto opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again.

“So basically you spent the last ten years overthinking what happened back then,” she said, as if she was trying to make a sense of what she was seeing.

Jin looked at her in annoyance.

“I wouldn’t say that returning to a traumatic event that completely ruined a part of my childhood that I actually considered happy, should be described as _overthinking_ ,” he pointed out.

Makoto made an exasperated sigh.

“Jin, it was physically impossible for you to lift that sword back then!” she said, as she gestured to the katana. “Facts are facts.”

“It is also impossible for two people to swap their bodies,” the boy retorted as he gestured to himself.

“Wait, just because something weird happened now, doesn’t mean that it happened back then!” Makoto shouted back, but internally she didn’t feel so confident about that. There were so many strange things about the case ten years ago that magical interference actually sounded plausible.

However, Makoto was not going to allow Jin to use it as an argument to blame himself.

The youth merely shrugged in response with a self-depreciating smile. Makoto had to consciously stop herself from slapping him.

“Why are the two of you so damn pessimistic?!” she groaned loudly.

This must have caught Jin, by surprise, because his smile fell.

“What?”

“Both of you!” Makoto shot a finger at him accusingly. “Both of you are determined to believe in the most negative version of events! Would it hurt you to consider that maybe it wasn’t as bad as you think?! That maybe you weren’t trying to hurt your sister? That maybe Ragna misunderstood what was going on? That maybe that intruder who killed your caretaker was to blame? That maybe you are almost adults and you should actually _talk_ about what happened, instead of bottling those feelings inside?!” Makoto ranted, letting out all of her frustration. “I hate to see the two of you like that! I only now realize that both of you never properly got over what happened back there,” Makoto paused, because the full realization of what she just said hit her. “Ohmyfuckingchestnut… of course, of course. This all…” She made a sweeping gesture. “This all was about what happened in the past.”

“Well, yes,” Jin confirmed cautiously, obviously not sure what to make of Makoto’s behaviour.

Meanwhile, the squirrel girl paced around the room as she tried to arrange her thoughts.

“So, Ragna. Ragna is on edge all the time, because he is afraid…” she muttered to herself, as she remembered his behaviour. “And then you are picking up a fight with him, because you believe it was your fault!” she exclaimed. “And... ohmypeanut, you guys are _so twisted_.”

Makoto slumped on the chair, suddenly exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster she just experienced, but finally able to see the clear picture of what was going on.

“Makoto?” Jin asked carefully. “Are you okay?”

The squirrel girl just shoot him a look.

“Not exactly, but definitely better than the two of you… just…” she made a loud sight. “I will need a day to think this through… and the day after tomorrow is Saturday,” she paused as she seemed to arrive at some sort of conclusion. “Jin, do you have anything to do on Saturday?”

“Um, some school festival documentation to finish,” he answered.

“Nothing, perfect,” Makoto concluded and then looked at him seriously. “Then Jin, you will go out with me on Saturday,” she announced, as if it was a final decision that could not be overturned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Makoto discovers what Jin knows about dating (not much), what Jin finds fun (also not much) and takes precautions to make sure the date doesn't turn into trainwreck (which don't amount to much either).


	22. Date with Destiny - Inexperienced Ones in Transit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Tren, y u not update?" "Because my faithful readers, I've been busy with being a working adult. I have much less free time." "So u haven't been writing?" "I was! In fact I'm quiet ahead with the material! I have a stack of 9 A4 pages filled with writing I did on the bus!" "Then y no update?" "Because I was too tired to edit this stuff. Plus, the date turned out into a three chapter long afair and I refused to update it before I had the whole thing finished." 
> 
> ...actually, the problem with the date was that this is literally one of the earliest happenings I planned, so I had too many ideas for it. The only other thing I possibly planned earlier was the gamechanging event that will happen at the end of this arc. Speaking of which I managed to figure out how many more chapters until the end of this arc. The date will take 3 chapters, after that there will be 2 transition chapters, before we have big final that should take 3 chapters. Morover, since I have the whole date edited, and I'm halfway through writing the second transition chapter. I can proudly announce...
> 
> PAPARARAPPA PA!
> 
> The return of the schedule!
> 
> That's right! We are back to monthly updates! I wanted to post the date with no long breaks in between! So yeah, the wait might have been slightly long, but now I'm gonna make it up to you!
> 
> So enjoy the inevitable trainwreck, and the many cliffhangers to come!

“You did what?” Ragna shouted, as Jin explained this new development to him on Friday.

“I have been made to agree to go out with Makoto tomorrow,” Jin repeated.

“Couldn’t you refuse her?” Ragna asked, as if it was the most obvious thing to do.

“No.”

“No?” Ragna repeated rising his brow.

Jin made a small sigh. Both brothers were sitting in the main room of Jubei’s house, Jubei was in the kitchen preparing a modest dinner for them. Jin had skipped the student council work Makoto made him do, deciding that Ragna had an infamy to keep.

“Nii-san, she was very angry and she had already threatened to punch me that day. I did not wish to test her patience,” Jin explained.

“So what? Couldn’t you take a little punch?” Ragna asked.

There was a quiet laugh that came from the kitchen as if Ragna just suggested something very amusing. The youth shot an annoyed look in that direction.

“Have you ever seen Makoto seriously punch anyone, Nii-san?” 

Ragna wondered for a moment.

“Well, no,” he admitted finally. He had seen Makoto hit a bully once, but she had been clearly holding back in that fight.

“So let me assure, as someone who did see her not holding back in a fight, that it is not something you wish to experience,” Jin explained. “Ever.”

“Was it that bad?” Ragna asked curious.

Jin sighed and took a sip of his tea.

“Some thugs approached Noel, Makoto and Tsubaki, when they went out to shop. I was also supposed to join them, but due to some business I was slightly late. I heard screams from distance and when I came there Makoto was wrapping things up,” his voice trailed as he remembered the scene. “You know, the thing with beastkins is that they are way stronger than any human. When I came there I could see it… Makoto actually punched one of the guys with enough strength to make him fly in the air. It was about two meters. She broke five of his ribs and seriously messed up some of his insides. And that was only one of those guys. The other four had a similar extent of damages. The first had both legs broken and was wailing like a child. The second had a concussion and it took two weeks for him to regain consciousness. From what I heard the third one became unable to produce offspring. Permanently. The fourth… the fourth was… ah, yes, broken arm and loss of several teeth.” Ragna listened in horror as Jin calmly listed all the injuries. “Honestly, the only reason why Makoto managed to get out of it unscathed is that Tsubaki was there. Yayoi family made sure to utilize its lawyers to the fullest. They also made sure that nobody learns of it, which is why you never heard of it. Duodecim is efficient when it comes to hiding its dirt,” Jin laughed derisively.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation.

“So my point is, don’t make Makoto angry,” Jin finished. “She will make your life hell.”

Ragna wanted to point out that Squirrel was already a source of trouble for him, but he stopped himself, because if he wanted to trace his troubles to someone it would be Jin, not Makoto. 

Then again if Makoto’s schemes worked out, she and Jin would become one big problem instead of two separate ones.

Ragna wasn’t sure if it would be an even bigger nuisance or not.

Knowing his luck it would be the former.

*

Jin wondered if he should wear some better clothes since it was technically supposed to be date. Not that he was not aware that it was merely a smokescreen. Makoto disliked dealing with things in too formal setting. Making a difficult talk into a date was her way of improving the mood.

Not that Jin felt it would work for him.

But it would probably work for her, so it wasn’t totally pointless.

Actually, no. It was pointless. Makoto clearly believed she could bridge the gap between him and his brother by talking.

It was the most futile thing that could happen.

Except, Jin was sure she would punch all of his teeth if he said that loud, so instead he steeled himself to just endure it. He had years of practice with Kisaragi’s. Makoto’s attempts would at least be borderline amusing, not deathly boring.

Jin looked into mirror and smiled slightly, like an actor preparing to play his role.

He idly wondered when he got so good at faking it. The smile looked almost genuine.

*

Makoto nervously patted the fur on her tail, as she stood before the doors leading to Jubei’s house. She was wearing black skirt and her lucky shirt, which was an orange T-shirt with a black print of a squirrel. She took a deep breath, as she tried to calm herself, but instead her thoughts once more continued to spiral.

She was going to have a date with Jin.

She asked Jin for a date.

He agreed to go on a date with her.

She… might have slightly threatened him into it, but Makoto was pretty sure Jin didn’t feel particularly discouraged by threats of violence.

Or even actual violence.

Actually, as far as her observations went it seemed to be more of an turn-on for him. So it was probably a good move.

_Geeee, Makoto. Look at yourself. Thinking you have a game, because you intimidated a handsome sociopath, who might or might not be a juvenile murderer into going on a date._

The fact that despite those thoughts she was still grinning like stupid was proof enough how far Makoto was gone. Even with all weird backstories and revelations, the idea of going on a date with Jin made her stupidly happy.

_Mom would probably hit me on head if she knew in just how much trouble her daughter is getting herself into._

Fortunately, her mother lived in different city and had her hands full taking care of Makoto’s younger siblings. It was a small mercy that the word of what was going on would never reach her.

Makoto sighed. She should stop stalling.

She made a last check of her tail and then pressed the intercom.

Jubei immediately opened the door.

Makoto blinked.

“I noticed ya waiting, but wanted ya to be ready,” Jubei admitted with a small smile. “Come in. He’s waiting for ya.”

Indeed, Jin was waiting in the house. Seeing Makoto he immediately got up. He didn’t wear anything too fancy, which was probably a good idea, as Makoto was pretty sure Ragna did not have enough sensibility for that. Then again there were small signs of an effort. The pants, while baggy, had obviously seen iron recently. The black shirt also looked surprisingly smart, without Ragna’s signature red jacket. Moreover, Jin apparently tried to slightly tame Ragna’s hair and it actually looked like it had been brushed, even if it remained spiky.

“Ah, good to see you Makoto,” he greeted her. “You came surprisingly timely.”

Makoto shoot a look at the clock. It was quarter past noon. They were supposed to meet at full hour.

“It was an insult, wasn’t it?” she asked bluntly.

Jin cocked his head.

“Was it? But you actually came on time. You appeared half an hour ago at the entrance. I saw you through the window.” Makoto made a panicked sound when she heard that, but Jin continued. “As far as I understand, one party being late is a part of courting ritual, which was why you loitered around, but I do appreciate that you in fact came earlier. Though, next time please just enter once you arrive,” he added with a hint of annoyance.

“I-I’m sorry,” Makoto stuttered embarrassed. She could hear Jubei snickering from the kitchen. This whole exchange was humiliating on several different levels.

 _But he said “next time”!_ A part of Makoto celebrated. She had not buried her chances of having a second date yet. 

Then again, she had a whole afternoon for that. 

“Then I shouldn’t keep you waiting anymore! Let’s go!” Makoto announced loudly, trying to inspirit herself. Jin merely nodded and both of them left.

*

Makoto had a plan. Or rather, she spend yesterday figuring out how to plan the date so that an emotionally stunted person like Jin could enjoy it.

Or at least not hate it wholeheartedly.

Well, that should not happen. Makoto made sure that Noel would be spending the day binge-watching another procedural drama TV series. She even tried to get Makoto to join, promising that it would not be as horrible as their last marathon (Noel had a particular skill of running into badly written plotlines every time she invited her friends to watch with her). Makoto respectfully declined, explaining that she already had some plans for the weekend.

Which wasn’t a lie.

Still they wouldn’t run into her, which was what was important. With the topic of Jin’s and Ragna’s familial drama hanging around, Saya’s lookalike was bound to made Jin even more cranky.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jin asked flatly, as though the date was not his business. Both of them have been walking for a while now with Makoto leading.

“We are going to my favourite dining spot!” Makoto announced happily. “I thought you could use a change of scenery. You are sitting either at home or in school now and that’s not healthy,” she mused. “Anyway, we could ride there, but I thought that a stroll could work up our appetite. Plus, you like walking, don’t you?”

Jin made a thoughtful sound.

“Not particularly. Then again, maybe I came to appreciate walking,” he muttered more to himself than Makoto. 

She stifled a sigh.

“Then, what do you like Jin?” she asked. This seemed like a safe topic that would put him in good mood. Makoto did not expect that Jin would make a surprised expression as though she asked him something strange.

“There… isn’t anything I particularly like,” he admitted with a troubled expression.

Makoto immediately realized that Jin wasn’t troubled about not liking things. Jin had far too little care for himself for that. He felt uneasy about making conversation awkward for her, since they were supposed to be on a date.

“And not particularly?!” Makoto asked desperately. She didn’t care about the mood, but she sincerely hoped that Jin would find something, anything, he liked.

An extended silence answered her.

“Motorcycles! Don’t you like them?” Makoto supplied, remembering that Jin had a motorcycle. He even managed to get a licence for it, right before the school started.

“They are fun. Sometimes,” Jin admitted without much emotions. It was as if he expected that at one point the motorcycles will inevitably rebel against him, betraying his trust.

“Uhhhh, then reading!”

“Not really.”

“Vegetable salads!”

“I do not hold any particular attachment to food, aside for dislike for meat.”

“Swordplay!” Makoto shouted desperate to find one thing that Jin would enjoy.

The lack of immediate answer made Makoto realized that this might have not been the best suggestion. Before she figured how to take it back, Jin answered.

“When it comes to fighting, I wouldn’t say I have a particular attachment to the ability to wield a sword,” Jin admitted slowly. “It’s more like… I guess I do enjoy the combat. And the feeling of cutting something.”

An extremely awkward silence ensued as Makoto desperately tried to figure out what to say. Jin, meanwhile, seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

_Shit, Makoto, you need to do something! He’s clearly thinking of this stupid incident! Do something!_

“I…” Makoto started. “I… I totally understand!” she finally shouted, managing to draw Jin’s attention. “I love to punch things!” she said. “It might sound a bit bad, when I say it like that, but that’s the truth. It like, doesn’t mean I like to hurt people. I just love the feeling of punching thugs… things… you know what I mean?” Makoto asked, hoping for some positive feedback.

Jin nodded, looking much more sober.

Makoto figured her talk must have helped.

*

The restaurant was more on the cheap side, which was one of the reasons why it was Makoto’s favourite. Despite that the food was rather good, while the interior felt homely. All in all, it felt like the best dating spot she could offer. That, and…

“Let’s sit here!” she announced as she moved toward the only table located next to giant glass window. Due to that placement, anyone standing on the street outside could see who was sitting at the table, which was why it was generally avoided. However, there was upside to that placement.

“It’s actually great spot, it’s away from all other tables, so we can talk without worries,” she explained with a smile as they sat down. Jin immediately turned towards other tables to judged that. Makoto smiled. She had accidentally discovered that the table provided surprisingly much privacy during one of her visits with Noel and ever since then she would take it whenever she was meeting someone.

Both of them placed their orders and talked about insignificant things concerning the school festival, while they ate the dinner.

“It’s three weeks till festival, and Tsubaki has already made most of the early preparations. I’m sure it will be successful this year.”

“Did something happen last year?” Makoto asked, sensing the emphasis on the last part of the sentence.

“Nothing that left an official record,” Jin said with a shrug.

“Come on, you can’t leave a girl hanging like that! Now, I’m curious!” Makoto wallowed, as she leaned over the table, looking pleadingly. However, Jin seemed completely unimpressed, as he sipped his drink.

“More importantly,” he continued in a level tone of voice. Makoto groaned realizing her begging went unanswered. “What did you really want to talk about?”

The girl sighed, feeling the pleasant mood they had drifting away.

“Lots of things,” she admitted. “And to be honest I have no idea where to begin.”

“Should we reschedule?” Jin asked, as he took out his mobile to check the calendar.

“NOOOOO!!!” Makoto shouted in desperation.

She was loud enough that several people turned toward them.

“Just… Give me a moment to gather my thoughts,” she asked more shyly.

“Ah, okay,” Jin admitted, slightly startled by the force of Makoto’s reaction. He hid the phone, back into his pocket and returned to sipping his tea.

Makoto took a deep breath. There was a silence between the two, during which Makoto gathered her thoughts. Since both of them finished their meals, Jin ordered a dessert for both of them.

“The thing is,” Makoto started, her voice betraying uncertainty, “that you never really had a proper family. Neither of you really. It’s not really something that can be _fixed_.”

“I don’t think I follow you,” Jin admitted.

“Ah, right, I went straight to the conclusion,” Makoto laughed awkwardly, as she shuffled her feet. “I was thinking about why everything is so messed up. I mean, there are many elements, but the most basic problem is that none of you ever had a proper familial relationship.”

Jin raised his eyebrow at that. Makoto sighed.

“I suck at explaining this stuff,” she sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about your family. And from what you said, you never really connected with your parents.”

Jin made a small sigh.

“I never really grew to trust them. I admit it,” he said in a somehow heavy voice. “Not that I was alone in that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Saya never really liked them, either,” Jin sneered.

“What about Ragna?” Makoto asked curious.

“He actually really liked dad. Maybe because he was the oldest when we got adopted. But none of us liked mother.”

“Wait a moment… adopted, as in adopted by Kisaragi’s?” Makoto asked confused.

“No, adopted by our parents. The ones we did share,” Jin specified. “Have I not mentioned that earlier?”

Makoto shook her head in denial. To be honest, she might have just missed that information amidst all the other revelations, but this only really served to prove her theory.

“So you never knew your real parents?” she asked curious.

“No.”

“I see. So the point stands that you never connected with any of your parents?” Makoto asked for confirmation, as she idly stabbed her hazelnut cake with a fork.

“No.”

“See, from what you and Ragna said, when you were younger you were… overly invested in Ragna,” Makoto explained. “I mean, I get looking up to your older siblings. I really do. There’s nothing weird about that, but the thing is…” the squirrel girl continued maltreating the cake, trying to explain Jin’s issues in the most diplomatic way she could.

“The thing is?” Jin repeated, when the silence stretched for a second too long.

“The thing is you were completely reliant on your brother when you were younger and then you suddenly lost that and I think you never really got over it,” Makoto said, apprehension clear in her voice.

Jin narrowed his brows.

“And you are telling me that, because?” he inquired, clearly not understanding why Makoto attempted to psychoanalyze him.

“Because I want you to realize that your current family dynamic is not healthy and while Kisaragi’s are a lost cause, I believe I can still salvage something when it comes to your relationship with your brother,” Makoto explained and then started to quickly eat the cake she had pulverized earlier.

Jin pondered on that assessment, while waiting for her to finish it.

“Look, I’m no psychologist, but I have a shitton of siblings. I’m the biggest authority when it comes to sibling dynamics, you will possibly have access to. It took me some time to wrap my head around your strange bond, but I’m finally starting to get it. And let me tell you. No matter what type of shit – and I’m saying that with the knowledge of your shitty past – went down in the past, there is always a way of salvaging it as long as both people are willing.”

Jin straightened slightly and then crossed his arms.

“You are making a lot of assumptions here, the biggest being the fact that we are both willing to put the past behind us.”

Makoto took a sip of her milkshake and then smiled confidently.

“Oh please, you are the biggest attention whore I’ve ever seen when it comes to your brother. Pretend before someone else that you wouldn’t _love_ to return to how things used to be.”

“Things can’t be repaired just like that,” Jin pointed out coldly.

“No, but you are almost adults. I’m sure you can make a working alternative,” she pointed out. “Come on, don’t glare at me like that,” she added seeing Jin scowl. “I’m saying that, because you refuse to admit it yourself and someone has to point out the obvious.”

Jin deflated slightly, but he still seemed rather stiff. Makoto felt slightly bad about it, as the conversation seemed to cause almost a physical discomfort to him, but she knew there was no going around that problem. Putting off this talk wouldn’t help anyone.

“Even if you assume I’m… willing to bridge the gap, I have no idea how you came to conclusion that my brother would also wish for that.”

Makoto made a troubled expression.

“Well, definitely not consciously. This is actually the part I will have to work on, but I felt safer starting with you. Still, I’m sure Ragna would love to have a proper and not creepy sibling relationship with you. He just sucks at communicating this.”

“Makoto, during the graduation he literally told me to never appear before him again, you really think he wants me around?”

“He does! Come one, I know he actually argued with you about your eating diet recently!”

“That’s because of body switch,” Jin whispered in reply. “He wants me to take a proper care of his body.”

“Then are you saying he haven’t argued with you about that before?” Makoto asked.

Jin opened and then closed his mouth.

“Seeeeeee!!!!!” Makoto grinned with satisfaction. “You know he still loves you.”

“He hates me,” Jin said, averting his gaze.

“Those two feelings are not mutually exclusive and you know that,” Makoto muttered frustrated.

“I just find your optimism unfounded.”

“Please, we are talking about Ragna _never sincere about my feelings_ Bloodedge. I doubt he could admit he likes someone without calling them idiot at least once,” she pointed out, raising her hands in the air in exasperation.

“That proves nothing,” Jin denied.

“He never stopped referring to you as _brother_!” Makoto replied annoyed, raising from her seat. Her raised voice once more brought attention to their table. Makoto quickly calmed and sat down embarrassed, waiting for people to lose interest again. 

“My point stands,” she whispered, when most people once more focused their attention on their meals.

“I… Are you sure about this?” Jin asked confused. He seemed to find it hard to believe.

“Squirrel seal of confidence. He never stopped treating you like a brother. If he truly refused to have anything to do with you, he would pretend you didn’t exist. Not get into fights with you!”

“You may have a point,” Jin agreed warily, though it was obvious, he still found it hard to believe.

“I always have!” Makoto insisted. She used to lull in the conversation to order another piece of cake. The main point of their date only started, and she already felt the need to replenish her strength, before continuing.

“Anyway,” she said trying to gain Jin’s attention once more, “I want to help you two get along again. I know I’m nosy, but the thing is. I want the two of you to be happy. I understand that a lot of stuff went down, but a family is family, and…” Makoto paused realizing that Jin was intently looking through the window rather than at her. “…and what are you staring at?” she asked annoyed.

“Tsubaki,” he replied immediately, turning his attention back to Makoto.

“Tsubaki?” she repeated confused.

“Yes, she saw me through the window. I think she is coming,” Jin explained calmly.

Makoto snapped her head towards the entrance, only to see Tsubaki moving towards them. The redhead seemed slightly embarrassed to be here, probably realizing she might be intruding. Makoto gulped, feeling the guilt crawling from the back of her mind to the forefront.

“Hello, Ragna, Makoto,” she greeted them carefully. “I hope, I’m not interrupting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Makoto is panicked, Tsubaki is confused and Jin is unhelpful. Also, Tsubaki attempts to play the role of wingwoman (not that she does much).


	23. Date with Destiny - Awkward Ones at the Restaurant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised the next chapter is up! And it's a good thing that I made sure to have the whole thing written down, because not much writing was done in August. My vacation was not very relaxing, my laptop broke (this time, thankfully, it wasn't a hard drive issue so I didn't have to worry about the data, but I couldn't do any editing without my laptop) and in all the havoc of August I was mostly too tired to do any writing. Still, I'm not planning to stop given how close I am to events of festival and boy, do I look forward to the festival. The scene at the end of this arc is the one of the earliest I planned.
> 
> Actually, while we are at the topic, so is the date. I think I mentioned it earlier, but this is one of the earliest ideas for the fic. When you do a bodyswitch you just can't ignore the great potential for misunderstandings and this three way date is something I was really looking forward to! It also gave me a great opportunity for using Tsubaki's POV to give some nice (and hilarious) perspective. 
> 
> So let's enjoy some funny times, before the consequences of Jin's and Makoto's actions catch up to them.

“Of course not!” Makoto announced quickly, before Jin could say anything. Her heart was beating fast.

She felt like she was caught red-handed, even if the parties involved remained completely unaware.

_Is that how an adulteress feels when a wife confronts her about stealing her husband?_

Makoto hated the feeling. While she had feelings for Jin for a long time, this was the first time she truly made a move on him and overstepped the lines she drew for herself. 

Harbouring feelings was one thing, but taking the object of shared affection to a date was another.

Still, Tsubaki remained blissfully unaware of that fact.

“Is that so, I only came, because I saw you through the window and it seemed rude to just ignore you like that,” the redhead admitted with a troubled smile. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your date.”

“It’s not a date!” Makoto shouted, with a pitched voice.

Everyone turned her eyes on her.

Including Jin.

“It is not?” he asked curiously.

Makoto felt like strangling him for being unable to read the mood.

“Not in the traditional sense!” she assured her friends. “ I mean, I called it a date, but really I just hoped to talk with you! I mean, away from school.” Makoto was having trouble forming sentences in her agitation, so her speech was painfully disjointed. Also, rather than explaining anything she was making excuses. Of course neither of her friends realized the true reason why she suddenly started acting like this, and Makoto was too overwhelmed to notice her own weird behaviour.

“Well, yes, Makoto has been trying to help me,” Jin added, trying to be helpful. He seemed unsure of how he should handle Makoto’s sudden outburst.

“I see, then I won’t be taking your time any longer,” Tsuabki said, figuring out that she should leave before Makoto gets even more agitated.

However, it was too late.

“No, no, it’s fine! You should stay!” Makoto assured, catching Tsubaki’s hand. The redhead looked at her friend in confusion. “You can help me explain stuff to him!”

“I-I don’t think it’s…” Tsubaki started to say, but Makoto’s pleading stare silenced her. “I mean, if you are _sure_ about it…”

*

Tsubaki did not expect her shopping trip to end up like this. After declining Noel’s invitation for a procedural drama marathon, she decided to go out and buy a few things. It was a complete accident that she noticed Ragna, when she was passing the restaurant.  
Well, not exactly an accident. Makoto often attended the place and Tsubaki checked out of reflex if her friend wasn’t there.

She was, but what drew Tsubaki’s attention was Ragna.

Ragna Bloodedge dressed a bit more smartly than usual and sitting opposite of Makoto.

And then Ragna noticed her.

It was an awkward moment, since she didn’t want to be found staring. Being impolite to Ragna was the last thing she desired. Which was why she entered the restaurant to greet Makoto and Ragna properly. She suspected that the two of them might be on date, but she thought it would be better to just admit outright that she accidentally saw them than to have Ragna come to some sort of wrong conclusion. As much as she trusted Makoto, she had seen for herself that Ragna had a tendency to assume the worst of people.

However, as it turned out, her appearance rattled Makoto much more than she expected. It was quite a surprise as the squirrel girl wasn’t someone who was usually shy about interacting with other people. And she certainly did not seem to mind being seen with Ragna at school.

Yet, once Makoto saw her, she completely lost her composure.

Tsubaki knew her friend well enough to realize that she was having an anxiety attack. At first she attempted to leave, but Makoto insisted that she stays with them.

…which was why she found herself sitting next to her friend and opposite Ragna. It was kind of awkward really, but more because of Makoto’s strange behaviour. The transfer student was acting surprisingly mature this time. He easily agreed to her presence to help ease Makoto and was now patiently waiting for her to regain her composure.

He even ordered a huge mug of hot chocolate for her.

He was almost _too_ considerate.

_Guess, I should have had more faith in him. Makoto always had a better grasp on people. I should have trusted her judgement._

From what Noel told her, even in middle school Makoto never pegged Ragna as a bad guy. When she talked about him, after Tsubaki’s return, she always mentioned how troublesome he had been, but it never felt as if she seriously disliked him.

 _And she complained about Jin-niisama too and I’m pretty sure she considers him an important friend._

Tsubaki returned to a slice of cake, she had been slowly eating. Makoto insisted she should try it and indeed, it was delicious. Still, her worry made it difficult for her to truly enjoy it.

“How is your work going, Ragna?” Tsubaki asked, trying to make a light-hearted conversation. She knew Makoto sometimes had trouble handling silence, so she hoped a small talk would help her revive from whatever slump she was having.

“Fine, I guess,” Ragna shrugged as he made a non-committal answer.

“Will you manage to check equipment until Friday?” she asked to make sure he was on schedule. She was too busy to check whether or not he truly committed himself to his duties. Especially, considering that Makoto all but dumped the assignment on him.

“Yes, yes, I’m doing fine,” he answered in a slightly impatient voice. “Makoto had enough conscience to help me a bit, so I should have no problems finishing on time.”

“She did?” Tsubaki asked surprised, as she glanced at her friend. The squirrel girl, however, had her eyes fixed on her mug and was obviously avoiding looking at anyone in particular.

“Yes, she came on Thursday. I told her, that she either helps me, since she dumped this stuff on me, or she stops bothering me. She choose the former.”

Makoto seemed to blush slightly at that, but her expression looked rather troubled.

 _Does she feel bad about forcing this assignment on Ragna?_ Tsubaki wondered. While she was happy that Ragna was starting to integrate with the student council, she was afraid that Makoto’s forceful methods may be… well, too forceful.

However, her worries seemed to be for naught, as Ragna spoke about Makoto without any hostility. Which was slightly weird, considering how pushy Makoto had been recently.

_Guess they had gotten much closer than I thought without me noticing._

She once more glanced towards Makoto who caught her eyes this time, but quickly averted her gaze. Tsubaki felt even more confused by that.

“I was sure Makoto wouldn’t leave you alone to do it,” the redhead said with a smile. It was one of the reasons why she agreed to give Ragna the assignment despite the fact that Makoto was the one to volunteer him. She was sure her friend wouldn’t leave Ragna to do something that was too much for him.

Ragna scoffed.

“You have more trust in her than I do,” he said with a teasing smile.

“Mean,” Makoto muttered into her hot chocolate.

Tsubaki couldn’t help herself and burst into laughter, seeing Makoto’s cute pout. Finally, the mood had improved, as the squirrel girl got herself together.

“I thought you were trying to get back at me, or something,” Ragna argued looking suspiciously at Makoto.

“Really?” Makoto asked in an exaggerated tone of someone who had been just betrayed. “That’s what you’ve been thinking?”

“And what was I supposed to think?” he asked in his trademark derogatory voice. He was clearly challenging her and Makoto seemed intent not to back down.

Tsubaki tried to stifle laughter, as she watched the banter. Of course, both of her companions immediately noticed that.

“Sorry,” she muttered, as she watched Ragna’s unimpressed gaze and Makoto’s slightly embarrassed expression. “You two just looked so at ease.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Makoto asked, looking at once embarrassed and guilty.

Tsubaki realized it might have been a wrong path to take. Apparently even a slight teasing made her friend uncomfortable. It was strange since usually Makoto didn’t mind those things.

_Why is she so self-conscious today?_

“Ah, well, I didn’t mean anything,” Tsubaki quickly assured her, while she desperately searched for some safe topic. “So, what were you talking about?”

This probably wasn’t the best topic, but she really was drawing a blank. Unfortunately, she used up all safe conversation topics concerning school festival earlier.

Ragna looked at Makoto, as if he was curious what answer she would give.

“We…” Makoto paused and Tsubaki could see a hurried train of thoughts, before her friend straightened herself, apparently finding her answer. “We were talking about family,” the squirrel girl answered more steadily.

“I-I see,” Tsubaki answered. The situation felt unbearably awkward at this point, but she had no avenue of escape at this point.

Or maybe she could make one for herself with this.

“Well then, I shouldn’t interrupt your talk any longer,” Tsubaki pointed out, as she grabbed her purse and attempted to raise from her seat once again.

Makoto caught her wrist in a steel grip, effectively stopping her. Tsubaki couldn’t stop her confusion from showing on her face. Makoto once more looked panicked, though the redhead still had no idea why. Normally she would immediately ask her friend, but she didn’t dare breach the topic in Ragna’s presence. Especially because Makoto’s face contained more than just anxiety. There was a myriad of emotions that seemed to flash through it, but that only made it more difficult to understand what was going on.

“We were talking about family,” Makoto repeated and Tsubaki could see her friend desperately searching for words, “because I realized that Jin and Ragna have a rather skewed idea of what family is! And I thought that giving them some positive examples would help and maybe you could help me with that!” Makoto’s voice was creepily cheerful now, and the redhead had no doubts that she was forcing herself. And also forcing herself on Tsubaki, as she was now unable to escape. She had no chance of breaking Makoto’s firm hold. 

Tsubaki sighed. The whole situation was starting to get to her and as much as she worried about Makoto, she was also starting to feel annoyed by her antics. 

Tsubaki took a deep breath. She needed to calm down and think about this rationally. Especially, because Makoto was clearly unable to do so and Ragna was waiting on sidelines. The latter might have actually been a blessing, as Tsubaki had little to no trust in his ability to lower anyone’s tension. His own included and possibly bolded.

_What can I do to help?_

Her appearance seemed to have destroyed the atmosphere completely and it was impossible for her to leave now. Therefore she needed a different way of achieving the equilibrium.

_Rather than escape I need to push forward!_

With that resolution, she seated herself properly once more. Makoto noticed that she no longer was trying to leave and gave her a slightly confused look, as if she was surprised by the lack of resistance. Tsubaki ignored that reaction. Makoto was clearly not mentally sound at the moment and reading too deeply into her actions was probably pointless.

“If you believe so, then I will help,” Tsubaki announced calmly, “though I’m not sure how helpful my experiences will be.”

Makoto gave her a relieved look and finally let go of her wrist. Tsubaki immediately rubbed it, knowing it would probably bruise. Makoto had trouble holding back, when she was anxious. However, it couldn’t be helped, so Tsubaki merely decided to wear a wristband the next day to avoid awkward questions and concentrated on the matter at hand.

“Ah, thanks, Tsubaki,” Makoto muttered with a small smile. “I’m sure your insight will be helpful!”

The redhead realized that Ragna was now giving them a curious look of someone who is not sure what they are observing and is now waiting for future developments.

His lack of reaction seemed worrying to her, but she couldn’t explain why exactly. It seemed off, somehow. 

_Is he wary because of me?_

Tsubaki couldn’t help feeling like a third wheel in her current situation.

_After that I will need to ask Makoto to tell me next time she is going out with Ragna, so I don’t interrupt them like that._

Somehow she was sure there would be a second meeting. 

At least there would if Makoto could pull herself together. 

_I need to help her_ , Tsubaki decided. _If I’m not mistaken Taro called such a role ‘wingman’._

She couldn’t recall the details, but as far as she could remember it was a role of a wingman to support a friend in a social outing.

Then again it sounded like a strange word, maybe Taro wasn’t serious when he explained it.

Tsubaki shook her head, now wasn’t the time to ponder the linguistic side of her problem. Makoto finally finished her chocolate and ordered a milkshake this time, while Tsubaki asked for a coffee. Ragna did not order anything, merely staring at the window. His cold tea was standing forgotten before him. He seemed to be in deep thought.

“So,” Makoto begun, this time with much more composure, “today I wanted to talk about family!” This time the cheer in her voice didn’t feel as forced as before. “That being said I’s important to remember that families are different, because they have different history, they consist of different members and yadda, yadda, yadda. However! There are some basic things that should be present in all families that we should not be overlooking!”

“Like?” Ragna asked with a slight derision, as if he felt offended by insinuation that he wasn’t aware of how a proper familial relationship is supposed to work.

“Like how to show a familial love without causing collateral damage!”

Tsubaki wasn’t surprised that Ragna looked unimpressed by this answer.

“Look, I did agree to come to this little outing, but if you think I will agree to being insulted…”

“That’s not it!” Makoto interrupted him quickly. “Gosh, don’t take it that personally, especially when I’m merely stating facts.”

Ragna raised his eyebrow, but he didn’t continue his rant. Makoto nodded in gratitude.

“Look, the only thing I want to do today is to give you some perspective,” the squirrel girl continued. “Some food for thought, because I know how easy it is to get stuck in a certain frame of mind, when you have no other point of reference.”

 _She’s talking about her past,_ Tsubaki realized. She was once more impressed by how much thought Makoto could put into things when they concerned her friends. Usually, the squirrel girl would act as if she wasn’t putting much mind into anything, but when it came to her friends she exhibited unbelievable cunning and understanding. 

Tsubaki made a small smile. Moments like these made her proud of how far Makoto had gone.

“So the point is to give you some idea about how other families work. What you do with this knowledge is up to you.”

Ragna was still frowning, but the fact that he had to yet attempt to call them idiots or outright storm out of the restaurant was already a good sign.

“If it’s any consolation, I seriously don’t blame you for not really knowing how to go about this stuff. It’s understandable, you know. But at the same time, it’s something you can _work on_ and…”

“Fine,” Ragna muttered in resignation, before Makoto even finished her sentence. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Tsubaki was slightly surprised by how easy he gave in. She was sure there would be more resistance. She looked at him intently. Something seemed off, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. Did Ragna have some problems?

“So first thing about family, it’s that even if we aren’t getting along we always stick together! Like, even when I was angry at my brother for eating my snacks, I would still have his back if he got in a real trouble,” Makoto explained. “And I’m pretty sure you get that part, I mean, you would totally help your bro if he was in trouble, right?”

Ragna made a non-committal grunt. Tsubaki wondered what she was even doing here, obviously Makoto had all this figured out. The squirrel girl seemed to take Ragna’s answer as satisfactory, since she moved on.

“Next thing. Family cares about each other! I think I should stress that part,” Makoto added.

Ragna looked at the squirrel girl without blinking.

“I don’t think my brother cares about me very much,” he pointed out, with a disembodied tone that somehow reminded Tsubaki of Jin. The uncanny resemblance made her shiver.

“Aaaand here goes the first hurdle,” Makoto announced with an exasperated sigh. Her goofy voice eased the mood a little. 

“I’m not sure what you want to discuss,” Ragna said, as he crossed his arms defensively. “And you were mentioning that earlier.”

“Why, the fact that siblings _always_ care about each other. I felt like I should be more firm about this one. No matter how much I always claimed that I didn’t care about some of my brothers’ stuff, I would still worry about them.”

“Your siblings weren’t like Jin,” Ragna announced coldly with amount of disdain that once more made Tsubaki uncomfortable. Makoto also seemed slightly unnerved, but she seemed to be prepared for his response as she quickly got over the scathing comment.

“Now look _Ragna_ , do I need to remind you what happened, when your foot was damaged?” she asked.

“You mean, when Jin stabbed my foot. Painfully,” Ragna pointed out. The longer his banter with Makoto continued the more his lips twisted in something that was both a smile and a grimace.

“Geeee, you say it like you were there,” Makoto said playfully, completely side-stepping Ragna’s accusation once more. “Now, before we continue this spiral of negative thinking, let us move to what happened after that particular skirmish.”

“I had to stay at home for several days.”

“Bzzzzt. Wrong!” Makoto announced, as she made a gesture indicating an incorrect answer. “After the battle ended Jin asked me to escort you to the infirmary. Because I think he figured you would have trouble getting there on your own and he knew I would be good for both moral and physical support!” she said with a smile.

“That was just him playing his little role as a student council president,” Ragna said.

“Whatever! Point is, he did the right thing!” Makoto announced as she made a thumbs up. “Since without me you would never have reached the infirmary! And let us not forget my little delivery!”

“Delivery?” Tsubaki asked confused.

Makoto made a guilty face.

“Uuuhhhh… Remember how Jin acted like total jerk after he fought with Ragna and there was this drama and I went home early, because explaining stuff to Jin was tiring?” Makoto rattle the words like a machine gun. “Well I might have not said the whole truth then, since he also asked me to bring Ragna notes, so he wouldn’t fall behind his studies.”

Tsubaki blinked, trying to comprehend Makoto’s logorrhoea and this new revelation.

“So? He probably just felt guilty,” Ragna interjected, visibly annoyed. “That’s no proof that he actually cares.”

But Makoto just shook her head.

“It’s exactly about feeling guilty!” she said triumphantly. “You _can’t_ feel guilty about something you don’t care about.”

Ragna froze, visibly lacking a counterargument. Finally, he sighed.

“Okay, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that it is as you say. Jin cares about me. However, what proof do you have that _I_ care about him? You were making a case earlier, but it was just a sophistry, wasn’t it?”

Tsubaki blinked. This whole conversation was going into weird direction.

“Wait, you want us to prove that _you_ care?” she asked unbelieving.

Ragna nodded seriously.

“That’s…”

“No, it’s fine Tsubaki,” Makoto said strongly, stopping her friend’s words. “Let’s do this!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The date culminates with tears, reassurance, damaged friendship, a huge bill and lots of mixed feelings.


	24. Date with Destiny - Reassured, Regretful and Rejected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooorrrrrrrrrryyyyyyy. No, seriously, I'm sorry for this delay. September was very busy and I didn't manage to finish editing completely. I only planned to be like a week late because of that.
> 
> ...and then I was ill for literally 3 weeks straight. It was literally one thing after another and I might have literally cried at one point, because my throat hurt so much I couldn't sleep.
> 
> So, uh, sorry, but this was really unforseen circumstances kind of thing. Going with more bad news for this fic. I signed up for yuletide and I'm taking break from this fic, until it ends. So there will be probably no new chapters until the end of this year. I admit, I really need a break from this fic, because for the last half a year I pretty much only wrote YaH, and yuletide is a great opportunity for me to write some different fandoms.
> 
> You may think it's cruel of me to take break at this point, but believe me - this cliffhanger is NOTHING compared to the end of the next chapter. Also the next two chapter are like twice the length of what I usually write and need a heavy editing, so I will need extra time to get my writing in shape. 
> 
> I don't know if I ever mentioned, but when it comes to musical inspiration this fic is heavily sponsored by Marina and the Diamonds songs, so if you ever want to get feels while waiting for the next chapter check her songs out.

Tsubaki wanted to sigh.

This whole date was becoming more and more weird.

 _I really don’t want to be here,_ Tsubaki thought wistfully. She understood that for some reason Makoto wanted her support, but despite that the redhead felt she was intruding. No matter how much she tried to rationalize her position, she couldn’t shake that feeling.

And now Ragna wanted explanation for his own behaviour…

 _Is he that disconnected from his feelings?_ Tsubaki wondered.

Meanwhile, Makoto was cracking her knuckles, as she prepared herself for the second round of the discussion. She didn’t seem even a bit phased now.

_Guess she is more prepared than me._

That thought stung a little. When Makoto said that she would take reconciliation of the two brothers in her own hands, Tsubaki thought she would still ask her and Noel for a bit of support. And yet that did not happen. Makoto seemed intent on doing everything herself. 

Well, maybe not everything. Tsubaki noticed that Mai had been keeping in contact with the squirrel girl. Noel admitted that the two of them had been regularly meeting and sharing some information.

_But that doesn’t make me feel much better._

Staying on the sidelines was more challenging than Tsubaki thought. She found herself shaking her head. She needed to keep her head in the game. There may be something she will be able to help with. If Makoto wanted her to stay, then there must be something she can help with. 

Thinking that, Tsubaki waited intently for Makoto’s words.

*

“So, we are here to prove that you are actually an incurable older brother, who can’t give up on his siblings no matter how much he tries,” Makoto announced, staring at Jin, who was smirking to himself. The irony of the situation must have been amusing to him.

“Please, Makoto, I had told him I do not want to see him ever again when we parted ways in middle school. What makes you think I _care_ about what that little shit does?”

Makoto could feel Tsubaki tense next to her, so she grabbed her hand.

“Don’t put him down so much,” Makoto all but glared at Jin.

He merely shrugged in the same condescending way as Ragna always did.

 _Of course you chose_ this _moment to capitalize on the family resemblance,_ Makoto thought in exasperation.

“Well, I probably wouldn’t if I _cared_.”

“Please, stop being so goddamn difficult and listen to me,” Makoto hissed.

Jin finally stopped talking, though his face still sported the same ironic smirk.

 _I will thoroughly enjoy wiping it from your face,_ she thought darkly, as she let go of Tsubaki’s hand.

“Yeah, you told Jin that, but that’s not because you hate him.” 

“Oh, really? Then why?” Jin leaned forward, taunting her.

_Now or never._

“It’s precisely because you can’t stop caring about him.” That seemed to give Jin a pause. Tsubaki too, if her face was anything to go by. “It all comes down to your inability to express your feelings properly. You didn’t push Jin away, because you hated him, but because it was becoming difficult to claim that was the case.”

“That’s…” Jin was intent on interrupting her again, but Makoto was in no mood for that.

“…that’s how it is, isn’t it? You forcefully tried to remove Jin from your life, because you couldn’t face your feelings. It’s easy to hate a faraway sibling, but hard to do the same when you can see just how human he is. It destroys the whole setup.”

“That’s no proof,” Jin said as he narrowed his eyes. “That’s conjecture.”

“Well documented one. You claim to hate Jin, but whenever he does do something nice for you, you accept it. You friggin care about his eating habits! You can’t care about those without caring about the person. It wouldn’t make sense!” Makoto unwaveringly pushed forward. When it came to Jin, the only surefire way to win was to stay on the offensive. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice those moments when you showed you care!”

That seemed to finally trigger some hesitation in Jin.

“It… I thought it was my imagination,” he admitted. The way he hung his head when he said that, was almost heart-breaking. Still, to Tsubaki it probably only looked as if Ragna belatedly started to notice his own feelings. The difference in perception was almost hysterical.

“Then I can tell you it wasn’t. _Everyone_ can see that! Except the two of you, somehow you are the only ones who keep missing on that.”

Jin just shook his head in disbelief. Makoto pouted in response.

“Look, it’s not like I want to beat you over the head with it, but you kinda aren’t leaving me a choice in the matter.”

“Like I’m the one with any choice here!” Jin barked and somehow Makoto felt a pride at that. It wasn’t often that one could make him react like that.

However, before she could continue someone else stood up.

“Of course, you have a choice!” Tsubaki all but shouted. That drew a silence both from Jin and Makoto as they almost forgot about the third person at their table. “All humans can choose as long as they live!”

“It’s not always that simple,” Jin replied with a sigh. “There are things we can’t change. I _can’t_ do anything about my brother’s behaviour.”

“That’s just cowardice!” Tsubaki argued, her tone was still agitated, but there was steel in her voice. “You are all but giving up before even trying.”

“I _tried_!” Jin cast his eyes downwards and Makoto realized she knew what he was talking about.

Middle school.

It was only for half a year, but he and Ragna attended the same school back then. They clashed and argued back then, but now that Makoto thought about it Jin was probably trying to somehow connect with his brother.

Connect in his crazy over-excited fashion, but connect nevertheless. Considering that Ragna seemed to be determined to completely ignore his younger brother at first, it wasn’t surprising that Jin decided to resort to the underhanded attention-grabbing tactics. However, no matter how much he tried, Ragna still rejected him in the end. Makoto hadn’t seen it, but she knew it happened, because at some point Jin just gave up altogether.

“Then shouldn’t you try harder?!” Tsubaki reasoned. “If you truly want to reconcile with your brother then you should be one to extend your hand!”

“It’s not that simple!”

“It _is_! You two are the ones making it difficult! And you are making Jin-niisama sad!” Tsubaki pointed out accusingly. 

Jin narrowed his eyes at that.

“Now, now, maybe we shouldn’t…” Makoto tried to calm down her friends, but it was too late. Both parties were too agitated at this point.

“Hmph, just because you can talk freely with him, doesn’t mean that it’s the same for me!” he hissed annoyed. 

“It’s not like I can talk freely with Jin-niisama!” Tsubaki retorted, misunderstanding what the youth meant. “I will never be able to tell him how I _really_ feel!”

The atmosphere surrounding the table shifted at that.

“What?” Jin was so thrown off the loop by that sudden admission that he managed to pronounce a flat “what” identical to the one his brother often made.

Tsubaki turned almost as red as her hair.

“I…” her voice wavered, but then she replied with the abandon of someone who has nothing to lose. “I’ve been in love with Jin-niisama since middle school! So don’t talk like you are the only one who can’t be sincere with him!”

Makoto froze at that. Meanwhile, Jin’s face went blank, as if all his worries and frustrations were overridden by this new information.

“You… have romantic feelings for him?” he repeated as if he wanted to make sure. Tsubaki said nothing, but her determined stare was all the answer he needed. “And you haven’t told him…?” It was more a statement than question, since obviously Jin _knew_ that. Tsubaki had never confessed to him.

The redhead nodded.

“There aren’t you as much of a coward as me?” he asked. Tsubaki seemed to turn even reader for an entirely different reason than embarrassment, but Jin noticed that and quickly placated her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad with it. I’m just… surprised.” His tone was so unguarded, it seemed to melt the tense atmosphere around the table. Tsubaki finally sat down again. “I guess this a sign that I wasn’t truly seeing things…” Jin admitted.

“A sign?” Tsubaki seemed confused. Makoto, meanwhile, was both happy and horrified. The realization that he completely missed Tsubaki’s feelings seemed to make Jin realize that he might have been mistaken about Ragna’s feelings too. However, there was also a dreadful feeling, because…

_Tsubaki confessed!_

The redhead had no idea that she ever did it, but now Jin knew and Makoto couldn’t help feeling worried. Would he answer her feelings? Would he wait for that till he got back his body? Would Makoto still have a chance? Those questions whirled around in her head.

“Yes, I guess you are right. I should try to reach out to my brother again,” he admitted. There was something refreshing and hopeful in his voice that cleared the dark atmosphere from before. Yet, that happiness was not meant to last and Jin’s next words utterly shattered it. “However, you,” he said as he looked at Tsubaki. “You should give up on Jin.”

His voice left no room for argument and the colour seemed to drain from Tsubaki’s face.

“Wait, what are you…” she started, but she was interrupted.

“You aren’t going to say it to him, so I will say it for you. You should give up. He will never return your feelings,” he said mercilessly, crushing Tsubaki’s hopes as if they were made from paper. “I’m merely saying this because you should face reality. The sooner, the better.”

Tsubaki seemed to want to say something, but she couldn’t get a word. She looked at Jin in despair, then took her bag and bolted out from the restaurant before anyone could stop her, leaving her two friends alone.

*

“What do you think you are doing?” Makoto hissed with hostility, when Tsubaki disappeared behind the door.

“I’m rejecting Tsubaki’s feelings,” Jin answered in his trademark what-else-does-it-look-like tone.

“But why?” she asked frustrated, despite the fact that deep down she had already figured it out.

“Because I don’t reciprocate her feelings, obviously.”

Part of Makoto wanted to make a backflip, because her biggest rival-in-love just fell out of the competition. However, an even bigger part of Makoto very much wanted to punch Jin in the face for making Tsubaki cry.

Meanwhile, Jin continued.

“I regret having to reject her so indirectly, but there was no other option,” he added with a sigh. “Hopefully, I won’t have to drag Nii-san into this.”

“No other option?! That,” Makoto gestured towards the door through which Tsubaki had fled, “was savage!”

“Holding back when it comes to rejection brings nothing, but unnecessary hope,” Jin explained, his voice strained now. And Makoto remembered, this wasn’t the first time Jin had rejected a confession. The people whose hearts he broke could be counted in dozens. “I don’t enjoy causing Tsubaki pain, but the sooner she gets over me the better.”

Something inside Makoto broke. She was still angry, but she lacked a proper outlet and the frustration seemed to be turning into despair.

“Why?” Makoto asked again, but this time her voice cracked. She could also feel tears slowly forming in her eyes. “Why couldn’t you just…?”

“What? Pretend to have romantic interest in her?” Jin supplied when Makoto didn’t finish her sentence. Seeing the confirmation in her eyes, he answered. “Because she doesn’t deserve a pathetic pity like that. She deserves better,” Jin explained and it dawned on Makoto that he didn’t reject Tsubaki, because she wasn’t good enough.

He did it, because she deserves much better than him.

Makoto took a deep breath to calm herself, so she could formulate her question this time.

“Can’t you even consider it? I know this was sprung on you suddenly, but…” The words failed Makoto again, because using the “she had been crushing on you for so long” argument would be nothing more than a cheap shot.

“No,” Jin’s voice was unnervingly steady as he answered. “I considered it, Makoto, but at this point…” his voice trailed slightly, as if he was hesitant to voice his feelings, but he quickly regained his composure. “At this point, Tsubaki is more of a sister to me than Saya.”

It was such an unexpected admission that Makoto had no idea what to say.

“I never told her that, but she saved me. When Kisaragi’s adopted me I almost lost any hope of ever becoming a part of a proper family. All I ever accomplished was ruining the only family I cared about. And then I meet Tsubaki, who accepted me as an older sibling. Even if we weren’t connected by blood and were nothing more than distant cousins in the eyes of Duodecim… For me, Tsubaki have been and always will be a beloved younger sister.”

Jin’s answer was sincere and steadfast. Makoto understood that much. Unfortunately, it did nothing to make her feel better about Tsubaki’s situation. However, it was hard for her to stay angry at Jin who was motivated by a pure familial love and self-loathing. 

It was just too sad.

“Besides she already knew,” Jin added.

“Knew what?”

“She knew the truth. I could see it in her eyes. It was probably why Tsubaki never expressed her feelings to me. She knew I wouldn’t reciprocate her love,” he explained.

Makoto’s eyes widened. Suddenly, Tsubaki’s hesitation in approaching Jin made sense. Makoto and Noel never noticed it, but Tsubaki did. In some ways she knew Jin better than them.

She had always known he had no romantic feelings toward her.

Makoto, unable to hold her emotions, burst into tears.

“I need to find Tsubaki,” she announced, before bolting out of the restaurant. She could hear Jin shouting for her to wait, but she wasn’t about to stop. She ran, sincerely hoping to find her friend.

*

“Wait!”

Jin wasn’t quite prepared to have a second woman run out of the restaurant in tears after talking to him. After witnessing such a scene, the waitress quickly approached him, probably afraid that he would also leave without taking care of his bills.

“Will you be paying?” she asked carefully, intimidated by Jin’s current outer appearance.

The youth sighed.

“Yes,” he answered, counting the joint cost of the meal the three of them had in his head. It was much more than he originally anticipated, even though he had taken into account Makoto’s ferocious appetite. “I can pay with card?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course,” the waitress replied, happy that the delinquent who made two girls cry was willing to peacefully pay for the meal.

As the waitress scrambled to get a terminal, Jin sighed to himself once more.

_I knew it was customary to pay for the other party’s expenses during a date, but why do I have to pay for two extra people?_

It saddened him that neither girl gave any thought to the bill they left for Jin to pay. He considered bringing the matter up during their meeting on Monday, but that would probably be considered rude (if completely justified) action.

 _I will just tell Nii-san to take the equal amount of money from my account_ , Jin decided. He hoped that Ragna wouldn’t get dragged into the sudden love drama, but there was no guarantee of that. Jin knew he would have to give his brother an abridged version of today’s events and maybe some pointers.

Thinking of Ragna made Jin remember what Makoto had told him. He was still hesitant, but her assurances seemed to have reached his heart. 

For the first time in ten years, Jin felt hopeful about his future interactions with Ragna.

*

Makoto ran, trying to find Tsubaki. Her mind insisted she was running because she was chasing Tsubaki, not because she was running away from Jin. His shout, begging her to wait, still resounded in her ears.

_…he didn’t shout like that when Tsubaki escaped from the restaurant._

Makoto forcibly willed that thought away. There would be a time to fully comprehend all that has just transpired later. For now she had to find Tsubaki.

It was only because Makoto knew her friend so well, that she managed to locate her in a nearby park. It painfully reminded her of a similar situation that took place some time ago. Back then she left it to Noel, but right now it fell to her to provide the support.

Makoto made sure to make some noise as she approached Tsubaki, so she wouldn’t surprise her. The redhead wasn’t crying anymore, but her eyes were red and her gaze seemed empty. She was a perfect picture of crushed hopes.

“Hey, Tsubaki,” Makoto started awkwardly, not sure what to say. There was no point in asking if she was okay when she obviously wasn’t.

“Makoto?”Tsubaki asked confused. “Why are you here?”

“I was worried about you.”

“What about your date?” she asked and while her voice was still cracked a bit from the crying fit, it was surprisingly composed.

“Ah, I ditched him,” Makoto said with a fake cheerfulness. “He deserved that after being mean to you, like that,” she added in a more jaded tone.

Tsubaki winced slightly.

“You should have finished talking with him,” Tsubaki pointed out.

“I think this was enough talking for one day,” Makoto admitted. After a pause she added. “It’s no-good to dump too much information on Ragna in one go.”

“Yeah, it probably isn’t,” Tsubaki admitted absent-mindedly. There was a bit of silence before the redhead spoke again. “You love him, don’t you?”

“I… no! I mean… it isn’t like that,” Makoto sputtered. She knew her denial was completely unconvincing, but had no idea how to phrase it differently. She couldn’t reveal the brother’s secret, after all.

“Is that why you asked me not to interfere with your mediation?” Tsubaki continued in an unnervingly steady voice.

“What? No! At that time I didn’t even fully realize it was like that!” Makoto shouted before realizing she said too much.

Tsubaki flashed her a sad smile that looked a bit bitter.

“Is that so?”

Makoto sighed, seeing that reaction.

“Look, I asked that, because I _knew_ siblings fight can get ugly and this one already looked _bad_. I didn’t want you or Noel getting caught in the crossfire. You already have a lot to worry about with school festival and other student council stuff,” Makoto admitted.

“And you think that stopped _me_ from worrying?” Tsubaki asked bitterly.

Makoto belatedly realized that somehow their conversation moved into a completely different direction from the one she anticipated.

“You never said anything about how your plans of helping Jin-niisama and Ragna are going. You only told us once, when you suddenly invited Ragna to eat with us and you basically sprung that on us. We went along with it and I’m not saying things didn’t turn out right, but I felt terribly out of loop. And not only back then…” Tsubaki’s voice trailed and Makoto felt as if somebody dropped a lump of iron into her stomach, when she realized where the conversation was going. “I don’t get it. What happened during the date. The two of you obviously knew what you were talking about, but I couldn’t follow you. Whenever I felt like I was starting to understand, you would say something that made me completely lost. And when I finally felt like I could contribute to the conversation I get treated like… _like that_ ,” she spat the last part in distaste.

Makoto felt her heart twist painfully, the feeling of betrayal returning stronger than before.

“And I know that you panicked. I could see that much. But why did you force me to stay?” Tsubaki sounded hurt as she asked her and Makoto realized it was all her fault. Neither Tsubaki, nor Jin did anything wrong this time. It was Makoto herself that screwed up. Because of her Tsubaki was crying. 

That realization almost made her puke.

Seeing Makoto’s guilty expression, the redhead sighed.

“Look, I’m not going to beat you over this. I don’t _want to_. I just…” Tsubaki’s voice trailed, but her face quickly steeled and she continued steadily. “I just want to know what is going on. Please, let me help you. Let me understand,” Tsubaki pleaded.

Makoto averted her eyes, as her thoughts raced. Her first instinct was to tell Tsubaki everything, but she immediately stopped herself, when she thought of Jin. When she first asked Jin why he didn’t want to include Tsubaki into the group of people who knew the truth about what was going on , his answer wasn’t completely satisfying. However, Makoto found herself agreeing with him now. At this point, it would be impossible to include Tsubaki in their little supernatural circle without sharing the whole truth with her. And Jin would never want to tell Tsubaki about his past. He kept her in the dark, precisely because he didn’t want her to learn about the darkness surrounding him. It was terribly selfish, but Makoto could understand. Jin wasn’t ready to admit to someone who was like a younger sister to him that he almost killed his actual younger sister. Maybe a time would come when he would, but that time wasn’t now. Right now Jin already had too much things to stress about. Forcing him to reveal his past to Tsubaki would be just cruel and telling her behind his back would be even worse.

She tried to consider a scenario when she only shares a part of the truth with Tsubaki. Just the part about the body switch, without the recent revelations about the brothers’ backstory. But all she did was return to exactly same spot. The childhood tragedy of Ragna and Jin was the only lead they really had. Tsubaki would be unable to help them unless she had the whole story. And knowing about the bodyswap and not being able to help would only torment her. Half-measures would only bring more misery. It was all or nothing. Makoto was painfully aware of that fact.

And no matter how she thought about it, there was no way she could agree to Tsubaki’s request. 

“I’m sorry,” she said with a heavy heart, “but I promised not to involve anyone else into this.”

A look of hurt appeared on Tsubaki’s face and Makoto realized that she must have trampled all over the expectations her friend had.

“Why?!” she asked so loudly, her voice was on the verge of shouting. “Why can’t I know?”

Makoto awkwardly clenched her fists. She had no good answer.

“It’s just like that…”

“Why can you tell Mai, but not me?!” This time Tsubaki shouted.

Makoto froze.

“You think I didn’t notice she got involved? And Taro too… It’s only me and Noel who don’t know what’s going on. Noel doesn’t seem to be curious and I can understand why she doesn’t want to meddle with Jin-niisama. He can’t stand her,” the frankness with which Tsubaki approached the subject and the extent of her knowledge chilled Makoto. It made her realize how little thought she put into her friend’s predicament. “But I’m not like her. I can’t pretend this doesn’t involve me. I think this little outing proved that I’m already plenty invested in the whole mess. So why do you insist on keeping me away. What has Mai that I lack, so you would trust me?”

 _Supernatural involvement_ , Makoto thought, but that was not an answer she could give.

“She had some experiences that I thought could help me solve the brothers’ problem. It was something she confided in me, so I can’t speak about it openly, but it was something that made her more suited for the job. Taro just invited himself in a true Taro fashion, because he wanted to help Mai like a proper boyfriend,” it was only after she finished the sentence that Makoto realized just what landmine she had stepped into.

“…so Taro can get involved, because he’s worried about his loved one, but _I_ can’t,” Tsubaki pointed out saltily the unfairness of her situation. “Makoto, explain to me, why am I the only person who _can’t_ act selfishly? Because that’s one thing I can’t understand.”

“That’s not…” Makoto started, but the voice died in her throat. Tsubaki’s hurt expression was too much for her to bear.

“…not the case?” Tsubaki finished mockingly, noticing Makoto’s hesitation. Then she sighed in disappointment. “Makoto, if there is anything I hate, it’s when my close friend’s lie to me. So please, be sincere with me,” Tsubaki said patiently, though it was obvious she wanted answers.

This was too much for Makoto.

“I’m not lying!” she shouted. The stress from everything that happened, her heavy conscience and now Tsubaki’s outburst finally got to Makoto, making her snap. “I promised people I wouldn’t go around telling their secrets! Is that so difficult to grasp?!”

Tsubaki reeled at that.

“No, it’s not,” her voice was icy cold as she got up from the bench. “Now, if you excuse me, I have some student council work to do. So as the only person not invited to join your reconciliation plan, I guess this is all I can do.”

Makoto was already regretting her outburst.

“Tsubaki…” she started, but she didn’t get to finish.

“I’m not going to bring student council as such into this. I know this is just my selfishness, but I just can’t… I can’t pretend that I’m fine with things as they are now. So please, don’t force me to fake it any longer. Because things, “she said as she turned toward her friend. There were new tears in her eyes, “are not fine.”

Makoto was powerless to stop crying Tsubaki from leaving.

“Shit,” she said. The tears were also forming in her own eyes. “SHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!”

Makoto’s powerless shout resounded through the park, but it did nothing to ease her conscience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ragna spends another lovely family dinner and discovers yet another skeleton in Jin's closet, which may have been one skeleton too many for his nerves. Meanwhile, Makoto is just tired of all the shit in her life.


	25. Eroding Bonds - Diary of June

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you are probably dissatisfied with the long wait. Unfortunately there was nothing to do about it, as the main culprit of the delay was my rather poor health (both mental and physical). This winter was hard on me and as I'm writing this I'm staying home due to illness. Fun times with hurting throat and lots of coughing. But at least I have some free time to write (believe me, it was hard to come by in the last months).
> 
> Still, I come bearing gifts. It's literally 6k words of despair. I'm not kidding. If you thought "wow, that escalated quickly" during the previous chapter then you've seen nothing yet. When I mentioned previously I really don't want to leave you on the horrible cliffhanger of this chapter I meant it. This chapter is a rollercoaster, as finally the time comes to move the plot forward. The next chapter may take some time though, because it will require a lot of editing (I tried to shorten it, as it got stupidly long, but in the process I realized I skipped the scenes that were important to the flow so I have to correct that).
> 
> And fun fact, the name of this chapter was inspired by the song "Dairy of Jane", because for a very long time I believed the songs name was "Diary of June" (I heard the song when I was young and my listening comprehension for English wasn't that great back then). It kinda fits the mood of this chapter.
> 
> _Something's getting in the way~ Something's just about to break~_

It was Saturday, early afternoon, when Ragna had an epiphany that his body was currently on a date.

It was a strange realization, knowing that his body had apparently gotten ahead in this regard. It also raised some worries, because it was Squirrel who was going out with Jin.

And if Ragna was ever forced to make a list of people most likely to try to score with Jin despite a bodyswitch, Makoto Nanaya would definitely take the top. Hell, she would probably find it hot, rather than disturbing.

…which was why Ragna spent his afternoon silently hoping that no one would score today. Especially, not his body.

In the evening, Ragna’s worries were interrupted by a phone call.

“Jin-niisama,” Tsubaki’s voice was somehow strained when she addressed him. “Am I not interrupting you?”

“No,” Ragna replied, because at this point everything was better than worrying about the outcome of date. Even chatting with Tsubaki.

“I just wanted to check, did… did Ragna mention anything about his weekend plans to you?” she asked, hesitation clear in her voice.

“Apparently, he was going to have a date with Makoto,” Ragna said flatly.

“So you knew…” Tsubaki muttered more to herself than to her conversation partner.

“Did Makoto tell you about the date?”

“No… she did not mention it. I ran into them while shopping.”

That _did_ catch Ragna’s attention.

“Is that so?” he used a rather non-committal tone, trying not to sound too curious. “Were they having fun?”

“I… I wouldn’t use the word _fun_ ,” Tsubaki admitted in a dejected voice. “I can’t speak for the whole duration of their date, but they mostly discussed the topic of family…”

“What?” This time composure failed Ragna. “Aren’t they moving a bit _too_ fast?”

“No!” even through the phone, the fluster in Tsubaki’s voice was obvious. “It was fraternal relationship they talked about!” That certainly cooled Ragna. It took no genius to figure out what exactly they were discussing.

Tsubaki must have realized she said too much, because she coughed awkwardly, trying to clear the mood.

“You needn’t worry, Jin-niisama, it was an ambient discussion.”

_That’s not what I’m worried about_ , Ragna thought to himself, but he wasn’t about to say that loud.

“I see,” he muttered, hoping that his lack of input would force Tsubaki to change the topic.

Unsurprisingly, she seemed to be used to Jin’s non-committal replies.

“Anyway, there is something I want to ask you,” the redhead admitted. Her tone of voice seemed to suggest it was an important question.

Ragna hesitated for a second, but decided it would be too out of character for Jin to avoid question from Tsubaki without listening to it first.

“What is it?”

Tsubaki exhaled deeply.

“Do you consider me a part of family?” There was a pause, before she continued with a clarification. “I’m not referring to the bonds enforced by Duodecim. I just want to know how you feel.”

Ragna cursed internally. It wasn’t a question he could just dodge without hurting Tsubaki’s feelings. He needed to give her some decisive answer. Unfortunately, Jin never specified to Ragna what his feelings towards Tsubaki were. He certainly treasured her, that was obvious even to Ragna, but whether it was a romantic or familial love, he had no idea.

Finally, he settled for middle ground. Something that wouldn’t specify the nature or their relationship, but would stress the importance…

“You are a special person to me, Tsubaki,” Ragna said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He seemed to have succeeded, because Tsubaki made a relieved sigh.

“Thank you, Jin-niisama. To me you are also an important person,” she admitted, affection clear in her voice. “I’m sorry, if this was weird question. Ragna said something that bothered me, but he must have been mistaken.”

“Ragna did?” he asked, feeling slightly alarmed. Unfortunately, Tsubaki misattributed the concern she heard in his voice.

“It’s nothing,” she said resolutely. She sounded very happy now. “I’m sorry for bothering you. See you on Monday.”

“See you”, Ragna repeated confused and the conversation ended.

He let go of the phone, wondering what the hell just happened. He briefly considered calling Jin, but decided against it. He already felt drained after his conversation with Tsubaki and conversing with Jin was usually extremely tiring.

Ragna decided to just talk with his brother on Monday, as he set off to have a late dinner.

*

It was on Sunday that everything went south. It started with yet another invitation to dinner that could not be turned down. Ragna had to admit he was slowly getting used to them. Soon they would probably become a normal fixture of his life.

Ragna felt chilled when he caught himself thinking that.

And unfortunately for him, life hated dullness.

It was soon after the second course, when Ragna was looking for a good opportunity to excuse himself from dessert to escape as quickly as possible from Kisaragi family, that one of his sister’s (who age-wise was probably much more suited to the role of an aunt) turned to him in the middle of her rant about irresponsible teenagers.

It took Ragna a moment to realize that all eyes in the room were on him.

“…and it pains me to think what kind of bad influence this could have on him. He almost took a wrong turn in life last year. It’s entirely possible this may happen again,” she explained in a fake teary voice.

“What may happen again?” Ragna asked, taking the obvious bait against his better judgement.

“Oh, you know,” she said in unnervingly cherry voice. “The stalking.”

Ragna raised his brow.

“Stalking?” he repeated, because that was a new information.

“Well, we would be blind not to notice,” she pointed out, probably thinking that Ragna was faking his confusion.

Ragna shrugged, hoping that the lack of verbal reaction would prompt the woman to move to a different topic.

It didn’t.

“And we told you many times to stay away from that no-good delinquent. Your past before you became Kisaragi is meaningless,” she continued, her cheerful tone cutting like an edge of steel. Ragna could feel the blood drain from his face as he realized that Kisaragi’s were badmouthing him. Not only as Jin, but also as Ragna.

However, her strange revelations caught him by surprise to the point where he couldn’t think of a single response. The woman, meanwhile, seemed to have the whole conversation well-rehearsed, because Ragna’s response only brought smile to her face.

“Feigning ignorance again, aren’t we?” she asked sweetly, but her tone turned devious with the next sentence. “Or did you think we wouldn’t notice that you’ve been visiting that plebeian instead of fulfilling your duty as the student council president?”

A dark murmur spread through the dinner table. Everyone was now openly staring at Ragna who felt helplessly outmatched. He had no allies here. He was alone.

And wait, when she mentioned a _plebeian_ did she mean _him_?!

“We turned a blind eye to that, because it seemed to calm you down and _it was nice_ not to receive news about your squabbles on weekly basis, but we can’t tolerate this any longer. It’s already a stain on our reputation that you seem intent on interacting with that… _furball_ ,”the hate in her voice was palpable and it took Ragna a second to realize she was talking about Makoto. “We wouldn’t want _another_ Kagura Mutsuki in _our_ family.”

The name was actually familiar to Ragna, if only because of the infamy it carried. It was hard not to remember someone who was allegedly found completely drunk and in presence of four lightly dressed (and apparently rather satisfied) beastkins during an important conference. Despite this scandal and his rather obvious fondness for female beastkins, Kagura was the most influential person in Duodecim right after the elusive figure of the Imperator. Apparently, only the current heads of the main families were allowed to meet the leader of Duodecim. Personally, Ragna thought that the whole family system was weird and unnecessarily complicated,

Unfortunately, right now he had to concentrate on his current Kisaragi problem, rather than general weirdness of Duodecim.

“…therefore we insist you avoid any further interactions with that dangerous plebeian,” the woman finished her rant, while crossing her arms to strengthen her point.

“Wait, that’s…” Ragna tried to protest reflexively. The idea of being completely cut out from Jin was scary in his current situation. He needed his brother’s support, if he was to continue this charade without being caught.

However, his words fell on deaf ears.

“That’s enough,” Hayato Kisaragi announced, interrupting Ragna.

Everyone fell silent, realizing that the head of the family was talking. He barely raised his voice and yet the whole table noticed the moment he joined conversation.

“It pains me to witness such a farce during the meal. Especially with how stale the topic is. Or rather should be,” his voice was cold and unamused, while his gaze was fixed on Ragna. The youth tensed even more when he noticed that. “I believe we already talked extensively about your, oh, excursions. And I recall you promising not to indulge in such a behaviour.”

Ragna realized Hayato expected an answer.

“That… was something else,” he said, hoping that his vague answer will buy him some time.

“Hard to argue, since you don’t seem to need binoculars anymore, but I would hardly call that an improvement,” Hayato’s scathing remarks reminded Ragna of his banters with Rachel, but there was no amusement in his voice. There was only cold assessment and heavy disappointment.

“It’s none of your business,” Ragna hissed. The revelation that Jin had apparently been stalking him finally started to sink in. He felt annoyed and Hayato’s words did little to calm the rage building inside of him. It was more like pouring oil into a fire.

“You are Kisaragi and _everything_ you do is our business. We will not tolerate any rebellious behaviour that will reflect badly on our family. And since you are so intent on skipping your student council duties you probably won’t mind your new curfew,” this time a wicked amusement did slip into Hayato’s words.

“Curfew?” Ragna repeated warily.

“You will return home right after the classes. Every day.”

“What?! You can’t…”

“Unless you want to receive a private turtor, you will agree to those terms.” That calm statement effectively shut Ragna up. “And I don’t think you need to worry about student council. The young Yayoi seems to be doing a _fantastic_ job in your place. And if you behave then _maybe_ we will allow you to take part in the school festival.”

It was only when a jolt of pain ran through him that Ragna realized he was clenching his fists so hard he was hurting himself. He wanted to scream. To do something. But all of the warnings he received from Jin rang in his ears and Ragna knew…

This wasn’t a battle he could win.

“…understood,” Ragna barely managed to acknowledge Hayato through his gritted teeth.

“Since the matter is resolved I think we can move on with the meal.” He signalled to the servants, who immediately moved to bring in the food. Meanwhile, Ragna excused himself.

He lost any appetite he may have had before.

*

Ragna found himself lying on the bed, unable to think of anything other than the conversation that had just taken the place. It was unbelievable how much Kisaragi’s had managed to fuck his life during one dinner. He was frustrated with his new curfew, which meant spending more times with Kisaragi’s, but he found himself more bothered by the idea of Jin stalking him. It was creepy, and invasive, and, worst of all, highly probable. Ragna always thought that it was suspicious how easily Jin let go of him when the first year of their respective high school lives began. During the spring break, after the graduation ceremony Jin was _very persistent_ , if highly visible stalker.

Ragna couldn’t take a short trip for groceries without running into his brother. Somehow it instilled in Ragna the belief that Jin wouldn’t be able to stalk him without being very obvious about it. A mistaken notion, if Kisaragi’s words were anything to go by. However, Ragna had to admit to himself he could not recall even one incident that would make him think that Jin stalked him, aside from his activities during that one spring break.

_Either it’s bullshit or he’s that good…_

Unfortunately, the second option was very plausible, especially with the whole Kisaragi family taking Jin’s staking tendencies for granted. 

That idea made him feel extremely uneasy. It just couldn’t be true.

…he didn’t want it to be true.

Ragna decided he needed some confirmation from a different source. 

He spent all the time before he fell asleep planning how to exactly obtain it.

*

The plan wasn’t exactly complicated, though it had some tricky parts. Namely, figuring out an excuse to skip a lesson because of alleged student council business. Luckily, the lesson before the lunch break was Japanese and professor Amane, while deeply regretful, easily excused his absence. Ragna was grateful for that. He didn’t want to skip any classes and give Kisaragi’s more ammunition against him.

The other step, which required calling Jubei from a public phone, was much easier in comparison.

Ragna meet him in an unused hallway that contained one of the emergency exits. It was possible to slip someone inside the school using this route and Ragna capitalized on it, to get Jubei inside without attracting anyone’s attention. Kisaragi’s newly enforced curfew was forcing him to do some rather annoying things to get a simple conversation with his guardian.

_Then again, I can have this conversation without Jin, so it’s not all bad,_ he admitted to himself. The thought made him shudder and turn around to make sure his brother wasn’t anywhere. The whole stalking business was making him paranoid. He was reverting to the jumpiness he acquired when Jin followed him during the spring break.

“So what’s the important business, ya were all cryptic about?” Jubei asked as soon as he got inside. “Cause I don’t see why ya couldn’t wait until the end of classes.”

Ragna made a frustrated sound, when he remembered why exactly.

“Because those Kisaragi bastards got worked up over me meeting Jin, or rather myself, so now I have a goddamn curfew and need to get my ass home right after school like a damn kid.”

“That bad? We figured with Jin they may make a move soon, but ‘aven’t expected anything _that_ harsh,” Jubei admitted. The casual way in which Jubei brought up Jin, made Ragna uneasy. He automatically tried to clench his shoulder, but stopped himself. That particular habit was hard to curb, but he was doing his best. Somehow, being in Jin’s body made it easy to forget that he used to have a scar there.

“They threatened to private tutor me. They aren’t joking around,” Ragna added, before he moved onto the main topic. “Anyway, there is something I wanted to ask about without Jin around.”

Jubei blinked, obviously not expecting the shift in the conversation.

“Ya making me curious. What do ya wanna know?”

“Uh, this may sound weird, but have you noticed anyone stalking me… uh, _us_ during the past year.”

Jubei narrowed his eyes.

“Someone told ya something, haven’t they?” the beastkin asked, suspicion written all over his face.  
Ragna sighed, there was no hiding things from his guardian.

“Yes, Kisaragi’s mentioned something while they were busy grounding me. Something about, ugh… Jin’s stalking habits.”

 

This time it was Jubei who sighed.

“I figured it had to be something like that. Ya never noticed a thing last year.”

Ragna suddenly felt very cold.

“So he _was_ stalking me!!” he shouted.

Jubei nodded his head resigned, while Ragna started to pace around restlessly. He expected Jubei to give him some clues, not to admit to knowing about the entire thing. 

_It’s almost as if he was…_

“Since when do you know?”

“From the beginning. Ya think I wouldn’t notice someone stalking our dojo?” The answer was expected, if extremely grating for Ragna.

_…almost as if he was an accomplice._

There was a feeling of betrayal spreading through Ragna. But it couldn’t be true. Jubei wouldn’t allow such a brazen invasion on his privacy. 

…or would he?

“And you did nothing?!”

“’F course I did. Ya have no idea how much effort I put into making sure ya brother wouldn’t die from pneumonia!” Jubei said with a huff.

That did jog Ragna’s memory. He remembered wondering about Jubei’s sudden obsession with taking a thermos containing hot cocoa on his strolls. And on that day when snow fell, Jubei insisted they get that old and thick blanket out of the storage, because “a friend of his” needed it. Now, all those little incidents came together in Ragna’s mind to form a hidden part of Jubei’s daily life he didn’t even suspect existed.

“You know that’s not what I’m asking about,” Ragna retorted in frustration, brushing aside Jubei’s attempts to lighten the mood. He felt sick. All this time he believed that the dojo was a home. A sanctuary. Even when Jin followed him around, he almost never entered the dojo and if he did Ragna was aware of it.

But now Ragna learned that his home was no shelter. Unknown to him, Jin had been allowed to invade the dojo. There was no protection.

The beastkin seemed to slump at this question, which suddenly made him look much much smaller and more tired. He must have been aware of the impact of his decision.

“I wanted to chase him away. I really did,” Jubei confessed in a quieter voice. “When I first approached him I just wanted to make him stop following ya. But then… I just figured it would be better to let him be.”

“You just let him?!” Ragna was so angry he could hear a ringing sound. It might have actually been a lunch bell, but he was too absorbed to register the fact.

“It’s not like it hurt ya!” Jubei retorted. “Until now ya had no trouble with that. I made sure ya brother wouldn’t approach ya, so ya could lead a peaceful high school life.”

“You two were in cahoots behind my back!” Ragna shouted out, hurt and betrayal clear in his voice.

“If ya could hold a conversation with yer brother fer a minute without getting into a fight I wouldn’t have to!” 

“That’s a piss poor excuse and you know it!”

Jubei deflated once more, losing the momentum.

“Yep, it’s a poor excuse,” he agreed. “I’m sorry I had to do things behind yer back, but ya… ya haven’t seen him!” the last part was so full of despair and guilt that Ragna’s retort died on his lips. Jubei looked just sad. “I know it’s ya brother, but I also meet him. I love ya Ragna, but he’s no stranger to me. I couldn’t just kick ‘im out of the roof.”

“You could,” Ragna pointed out coldly.

“Yeah, but I have enough regrets in my old body as it is,” Jubei admitted with a fake cheer. “I may’ve been a ruthless warrior once, but that’s in the past. I know it was against yer wishes, but being an adult is about making hard choices.”

“I never wanted you to make choices for me!”

“And I never wanted to solve this problem behind yer back! What I did was not fair towards ya, but it was the right choice,” Jubei said strongly. His gaze didn’t waver as he continued. “Yer may hate me fer that, but I ain’t have a bone of regret that I let yer brother hang around.”

“Then adopt him, if you like him so much!” Ragna growled.

“I would,” Jubei answered seriously. “And after spending a month in his body you should understand why. He’s the one who drew the short straw!”

That gave Ragna a pause, as he remembered what happened yesterday. The cold voice of Hayato Kisaragi. The piercing gaze of other Kisaragi’s watching his downfall like vultures. The sheer loneliness he felt at that dinner table…

Something inside Ragna snapped at that. It just wasn’t fair. It looked like…

“Oh, so _he_ is a victim now!” the youth pointed out hatefully, as he took a step back.

“If ya think, ya have a monopoly fer that, ya’ll never grow a pair.” For the first time in entire conversation Jubei seemed to be plainly disappointed in Ragna.

“Well, you obviously have none, if you can’t even kick one goddamn stalker from the freakin ro…” the voice died in Ragna’s throat as he heard a sound behind him. He turned around to see a third person in the hallway. The person also seemed to be bewildered by the scene they stumbled upon.

“Nii-san?” Jin looked completely lost, moving his gaze between Ragna and Jubei, as if he wasn’t sure if he should be in this place.

“Jin… what are you doing here?” Ragna blurted.

“You weren’t coming. I thought something might have happened, so I went looking for you,” Jin explained. Ragna realized he must have missed the bell signalling the beginning of the lunch break. Moreover, the place where he was meeting Jubei was one of his meeting spots with Jin. It made sense that his brother decided to check it.

However, any of those rational thoughts disappeared from Ragna’s head when it occurred to him that the source of his troubles was here. Jubei must have also realized that, because he looked at his charge in horror.

“Ragna, NO!” he protested, but it was too late. Ragna had already moved towards Jin, who looked not only confused, but also scared.

“You!” he punctuated his words by grabbing Jin’s collar. He was slightly limited by the fact that Jin was taller than him at the moment, but with a forceful jerk he managed to bend Jin enough so they were on the same eye level. “How dare you?!” The rage made him breathless, so Ragna had to pause before continuing. “How dare you stalk me?!

Colour seemed to slowly drain from Jin’s face, as realization of what Ragna was talking about downed on him. 

“How do you…?” Jin looked in horror at Ragna, but then threw a questioning look at Jubei.

“Kisaragai’s told ‘im,” the beastkin explained with a sigh.

Annoyance flicked through Jin’s face, but Ragna’s angry stare quickly extinguished it.

“I… you didn’t want to _see_ me…” Jin’s excuse felt weak, as if he had no energy to defend himself. His eyes were cast downwards as if he was afraid of looking straight at Ragna.

“When I said I didn’t want to _see_ you, I meant I wanted you to get the fuck _out_ of my life. I didn’t think I needed to fucking spell out _that_ part!”

He was enraged. He always knew that it was Jin’s fault that his childhood was ruined, but he managed to somehow accept that. There was no regaining the lost innocence.

However, the idea that Jin had not only invaded his personal space, but also made Ragna’s guardian side with him made him livid.

Apparently, destroying one family wasn’t enough for Jin. He was about to destroy his new one too.

He wouldn’t allow it. Not again.

“RAGNA! DON’T!” Jubei caught Ragna’s arm at this point, trying to make him calm down, but the youth was too far gone to listen to him.

“I hate you,” Ragna announced with an eerie steadiness in his voice. “I always did. You bring nothing but misfortune. And I don’t want you _anywhere_ near me. Is that fucking clear?!”

Jin froze. It was as if all emotions got sucked out of him to leave nothing, but a frigid emptiness.  
For a split second, Ragna felt bad about everything he had said, but the regret was quickly washed away by the outrage.

Before anyone could stop him, Ragna bolted through the emergency exit and disappeared outside.

*

“RAGNA!” It was Jubei who called after him. For a moment he considered going after Ragna, but one look at the younger of the brothers stopped him. Jin continued to stand in place quiet and unmoving. He looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut and Jubei hated just how accurate this comparison seemed to be.

“Jin,” he called gently as he approached the boy, but there was no reaction. The youth remained still like a statue and his gaze was completely empty.

Jubei found it creepy just how much it reminded him of Jin from ten months ago.

Ragna might have been right when he claimed that chasing Jin away would have been a _sane_ choice. However, even now, as he watched the fallout of his decision, Jubei couldn’t consider abandoning Jin the _right_ choice.

“Jin! Can you hear me?” he asked a bit louder. That seemed to snap the youth out of his trance, but he ended looking confused and lost instead.

“I am sorry, Jin,” he added more gently. “I didn’t think Kisaragi’s would tell ‘im that… I didn’t think he would…” Jubei stopped when he saw Jin lightly shaking his head in denial.

“It wasn’t your fault,” the boy said quietly.

“Jin…”

“It was all my fault… again,” he muttered, as he clenched his shoulder. His gaze once more fixed at the door which Ragna used to leave.

This time it was Jubei who shook his head.

“Ya shouldn’t blame yerself for everything,” he said gently. “It’s not like ya were a dog with two tails for the last year.”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I told myself worse to get by,” Jubei admitted, as he gently tugged on Jin’s hand. “Come one… let’s go home. I don’t think there’s a point to ya staying for the rest of ya classes.”

“No… there isn’t.”

*

“Ragna sure is taking his time,” Noel muttered. The girls and Taro had already finished their lunches. Ragna’s lunch was sitting on the table, abandoned by its owner. When the youth came to the room he seemed surprised by his brother’s absence. After it became obvious that Jin was not coming and no one knew where he was, they attempted to contact him. Unable to contain his anxiety, Ragna left to search for him.

“Still, it’s nice to see him fret over his little brother like that,” Noel pointed out trying to lighten the mood. 

“Yes,” Tsubaki admitted with a slight strain in her voice that seemed to go unnoticed. “I guess that’s one good thing about him.”

“He and Jin always butted heads, so I’m happy they are starting to get along now. Don’t you, Makoto?” Noel continued, trying to get Makoto’s help in raising the atmosphere, but the squirrel girl didn’t seem to notice the question. She just continued to absent-mindedly chew some nuts she brought.

“Makoto?”

*

Makoto Nanaya was tired.

The previous week was long and exhausting. She had learned the truth about the brothers, but it only breed more questions and put her under even more stress. Date with Jin was supposed to be a bright energizing spot. A first major step in the “Stop Jin from blaming himself 2k14” project. Except, everything blew in her face.

Not that her project wasn’t successful. Jin did look more reassured than ever when she left him in the restaurant. On that front it was a total success.

No, the problem was Makoto’s conscience. The accidental three-way date could pass as a funny coincidence. Maybe even a hilarious misunderstanding, if it wasn’t for the fact that Makoto was quiet literally losing her sleep over it.

It was almost unbelievable how for a short amount of time Makoto managed to forget all her worries concerning Tsubaki. She could claim that with the whole bodyswap business she rather successfully pushed those worries into back of her mind, but that did not change the fact that she went out on a date with her friend’s crush.

_I’m the worst…_

Ever since the date, guilt was consuming Makoto like an ever-hungry beast. It didn’t help that everything she did during the last month had something to do with Jin. Whenever she would try to divert her attention away from the dark thoughts hanging over her, she would inevitably return to thinking about Jin and that made her begin yet another guilt trip. It was a vicious cycle she couldn’t break.

“Earth to Makoto, are you there?”

Makoto belatedly realized that someone was waving their hand before her face and she almost feel from the chair startled.

“Are you alright?!”

The owner of the hand caught her, securing her in her seat, and Makoto finally registered that it was Noel.

“Yeah, sorry. I got lost in thought,” the squirrel girl admitted, trying to sound cheerful, but her voice was strained.

Tsubaki, who apparently was standing next to them, gave Makoto a worried glance.

“If you feel bad you should go to the nurse office,” she suggested, but her worry was colored by other feelings.

The worst part of the whole ordeal was probably the fact that Tsubaki acted almost the same way as always toward her. Frankly, Makoto felt she would be better off if Tsubaki acted more hurt, because that would serve as a proof of Makoto’s wrongdoings. Unfortunately, Tsubaki took it on herself to be the mature one and refused let her dissatisfaction influence their friendship. She probably trusted Makoto enough as to not pressure her. Except, that made the squirrel girl feel as if her sins went unnoticed and unacknowledged and it was the worst.

No, even worse than that was the fact that Tsubaki was only human. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop the strained atmosphere that appeared between them. Tsubaki was doing her best, but just as she said – things weren’t right.

Makoto’s decisions hurt her and she couldn’t hide that fact completely.

_I feel like the biggest badguy…_

Her musings were interrupted as her phone produced a catchy melody, indicating that she received a text. Makoto opened it mechanically.

It was from Jubei.

“Ragna and Jin had a fight. Looks serious. Contact asap for details.”

Makoto stared at the text. She knew she should probably be worried, but all she could feel was resignation.

Jin and Ragna were at it again. Makoto had struggled, worried, worked as hard as she could, and even cheated on her friend behind her back, but in the end she made no difference. As soon as she took her eyes off them, the brothers got into yet another argument. It felt as if all her effort was moot.

She could not break the vicious circle of violence they were caught in, nor could she find the truth from ten years ago, and any truce between the brothers she helped build was temporary and not meant to last.

And honestly, Makoto was sick and tired of it all.

She hid the phone with a sigh.

“Did something happen?” Noel asked.

“No, just a text from acquaintance,” the squirrel girl said, as her wistful gaze turned towards the window.

Meanwhile, Tsubaki finished herself and left the room for some errand. There was a moment of silence, before Makoto’s self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted again.

“Makoto, _did_ something happen?” Noel repeated with more emphasis.

Makoto blinked confused, slowly turning her head once more towards Noel.

“Happen?”

“Between you and Tsubaki,” the blond specified.

Makoto sighed. She really didn’t feel like talking, but running away would require effort. And she seemed to have expended all her strength.

“Tsubaki discovered I’ve been keeping a secret from her. And she didn’t take it well, when I refused to tell her,” she explained.

“Umm, but why would she…”

“It concerned Jin,” Makoto specified, before Noel even finished her question.

Noel’s face showed understanding, before it seamlessly phased into distress.

“That’s bad,” she muttered, staring at the table before her.

…and didn’t say anything more.

Makoto might have been going through a lot of shit, but even she realized something was off. 

“Aren’t you going to say something to me?” the squirrel girl asked.

“Eh?” Noel seemed so lost in her thought that she barely registered the question.

“Aren’t you going to suggest we should make up? Or something?” Makoto asked, feeling slightly weirded out by the whole situation.

Ever since the three of them became friends, Noel had been fiercely protective of the bond they shared. Whenever any disagreements happened she would be the first one to push towards the reconciliation. She usually would put more enthusiasm than rationale into her attempts, but her sincerity was so obvious it was impossible to hate her for it. She never let anything get to her, when it came to their friendship, overcoming all obstacles with a smile.

Except something was stopping her right now.

Noel’s ever expressive face went through confusion, distress, sadness, wistfulness, regret and at least several expressions Makoto couldn’t identify, before it finally stopped at resignation.

“I don’t have any good suggestions,” Noel finally said, not looking at Makoto.

“What?” The squirrel girl was so confused, she couldn’t even find proper words, she was just staring disbelieving. 

“This… this is between you and Tsubaki. I… I don’t think it’s my place interfere,” Noel looked as if the words were physically painful for her to speak, but she forced them out anyway.

_She’s holding back_ , Makoto realized. 

Why was Noel holding herself back?

Makoto almost asked her that, but stopped herself at the last second.

Nothing good came out of her attempts at understanding others recently. And Noel was right, there was no reason to bringing her into this mess. Plus, Makoto trusted her friend’s intuition. If Noel truly felt like it was better for her to keep her distance, she would accept it.

“You are right. Sorry, I shouldn’t just burden you with all my problems,” Makoto conceded.

“Ah, no, I’m the one who’s sorry. I can’t be of any use to you,” Noel muttered with regret. She looked so sad, the squirrel girl patted her without thinking.

“It’s alright.” When Noel gave her confused look, Makoto continued. “Just make sure to help me when you can, okay!”

Noel smiled a little at that. 

Makoto returned the smile, but it did little to ease her guilty feelings.

*

Jin was lying curled on the bed. After returning with Jubei to the dojo, he had excused himself from the dinner and locked himself in the room. 

He refused to think of it as his room. He was merely a temporary guest.

He also ignored Jubei’s offer to “talk ‘bout what happened” in favour of solitude.

Not that he was in any shape to hold the conversation.

“It hurts…”

The statement did not only refer to Jin’s mental state.

His shoulder was pulsating with a glowing pain. It was as if the arm itself was rejecting him and trying to forcibly detach itself from him.

Ever since the bodyswap he’s been suffering from occasional bouts of pain, but they were never long and as severe as what he was experiencing right now. He had no idea if it was something Ragna had been experiencing, but it didn’t seem to be the case. While Ragna had a habit of touching his scarred shoulder from time to time, as if he wanted to make sure it’s still attached, there was no evidence that it ever caused him pain. Jubei confirmed that much when Jin subtly questioned him about it.

No, apparently the pain started after they changed bodies. It raised many questions. Would the pain bouts stop when they returned to their respective bodies or would they continue? Would Ragna be forced to forever relive the pain of having his shoulder cut? Or if they failed to return to their bodies would Jin be forced to experience it over and over again? What was even the source of those strange phantom pains?

However, right now, Jin was completely unable to ponder any of those questions. All he could think of was the searing pain emanating from the shoulder. He had to bite into his pillow to silence cries of pain, and continued to writhed on bed, unable to find any sort of escape from the agony.

And whenever he closed his eyes all he could see was Ragna’s hateful gaze from today. That scene kept repeating in his head. At some point, image of nine years old and middle school Ragna got added into a mix, creating a true study of hatred over time. It was an ever-changing image of Ragna, however, even as his age changed, the hateful stare remained the same. Even their voices seemed to overlap creating a chorus of disdain.

Jin thrust his hand forward, hoping to reach something, anything, that would ease his suffering. His hand brushed something and Jin opened his eyes to look at the object. It was Yukianesa propped next to the bed. It hadn’t been moved since Makoto’s visit. 

Jin’s fingers instinctively clenched around it. It’s presence was comforting. Had always been. Even if it was Saya who relinquished this blade to him, it was an important possession and the only reminder of his childhood he had.

Jin tried to move the sword closer, but the pain in his shoulder suddenly flared. The youth gasped, letting go of the sword, which fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Silent sobs escaped from his clenched teeth, as Jin curled on the bed.

“It hurts…” he complained in a broken wail.

“…it hurts, Nii-san.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to hell. 
> 
> Next chapter: It's hot. Makoto spends way too much time being listless, learning that probably none of her friends are normal and recaping how she feel for an asshole. She also discovers her true talent... or maybe not. Also, the festival is coming.


End file.
